Midweek Munchies (Supermarket Edition)

A bit of a different one this week, more a photo dump of some vegan things I have seen at supermarkets. A while a go I posted a photo dump of fun things available in Coles. Woolworths was dragging behind, but they have since caught up big time. So most of these photos are from Woolworths, with a couple from Coles and one from IGA. And since I took these photos, there is even more available!! I'll put the supermarket where I saw them, but some are available at multiple places. Enjoy this random quick vegan tour through the Australian supermarket shelves!

Woolworths



















Coles







IGA



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Incase you were wondering, clinic boy Jed is still living his best life, legs in the air and belly up.

Eating Out: Izakaya Midori

A short post about a nice little lunch I had at Izakaya Midori, the amazing vegan Japanese restaurant down at the Gold Coast. I was down that way for an appointment, so it made sense to stop in for some delicious food as I was in the area! You can see my other Izakaya Midori posts here.

They have a selection of sushi rolls available at lunch time, so I got a Katsu roll and a Terichiki Avocado roll.



I love their Naso Miso Den, which seems to be a permanent addition to their specials menu. But this trip I thought I would try the Nasu de Agebitashi, or a cold dish of eggplant in a Japanese broth. This was refreshing and had some lovely flavours.



Finally I had their Katsu Don. The don bowls are only available at lunch, and include one of their proteins, rice, and salad. The Katsu was lovely, though the sauce on it was a bit sweeter than I would have expected.



Izakaya Midori continues to be one of my favourite places. I have only posted about their lunch menu so far, but my next post about them will be about an amazing dinner my mum and I had there last month. So stay tuned.

Izakaya Midori - Shop 7/ 50 Woodland Drive, Reedy Creek, QLD - (07) 5645 6625

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



The final pin close up of my custom Bunny Dee pet pins - the noble Sahara.

Recipe Round-Up: Whole Grain Vegan Baking

I love collecting fancy silly flours, and Whole Grain Vegan Baking by Celine Steen and Tamasin Noyes is a handy book when it comes to using up some of them! This book has all sorts of stuff in it, from breakfasts to bread, savouries to sweets. I realised that I have only done one mini round-up for this book during VeganMoFo last year, but it has still appeared plenty of times in either bake sale or sabbat posts. You can see all of those posts to see other things I have made here.

Chocolate Sesame Granola: Periodically I remember that granola is very easy and fun to make. This is meant to have a mix of rye, oat, and spelt flakes. But I couldn't gind spelt flakes so I used barley and I used a bigger proportion of oats. The tahini in it gives it a nice bitterness, but the chocolate comes from chocolate chips melted onto the clusters, so this was more of a dessert granola for me.
Rating: :)



More-Than-Maple Granola: This is your more traditional granola. Made with oats, but with a combination of almonds, flax, and sunflower seeds (it said to use roasted but I just used raw and they roasted up in the oven anyway). This has a fun combination of spices including cinnamon and garam malasa, and had almost a gingerbread flavour to it. Tart dried cherries were a lovely combination to the sweetness of the maple syrup.
Rating: :)



Sweet Corn and Blueberry Pancakes: I made a half recipe of this for two big pancakes and one big serve. The batter is quite thick and almost crumbly, so you need to make sure they are definitely fully cooked on the bottom before you try to flip them or they will break. These had just a very subtle sweetness, which I liked. Especially as I served them with some very sweet maple butter. Also with some Field Roast Apple Maple Breakfast Links and some fresh peaches.
Rating: :)



Ginger and Spice Cookies: I love a ginger cookie, and the idea of a ginger cookie with five spice made me very happy. Unfortunately I couldn't really taste the five spice, as the ginger was very strong (which was fine, they make an awesome super ginger cookie). I used Nuttelex (vegan margarine) in place of coconut oil (gross). These have a mix of whole spelt flour and brown rice flour in them. They also have chopped chunks of candied ginger in them as well (I used the Naked Ginger, without too much sugar).
Rating: :)



Chocolate Smorgasbord Spelt Cupcakes: Chocolate cupcake with chocolate chips and chocolate ganache. I made this for some random bake sale. These are made with a blend of millet and whole spelt flour, so they are quite dense little cupcakes. I had some leftover creamer that I used in the batter, but I didn't have enough for the ganache so I just used some soy and oat milk. I made half a recipe of the ganache, which was the perfect amount for spreading on 12 cupcakes. I also decorated them with chocolate sprinkles, because why not be extra chocolatey.
Rating; :)



Mango Blackberry Crumble: Please excuse this terrible photo of a lovely crumble. I used frozen fruit for both of them, but needed to cook it a bit longer than the recipe said even though they were thawed. The topping is made of a mix of oat flour, spelt flour, and barley flour. I made a half recipe for three servings.
Rating: :)



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Gizmo's edition of my Bunny Dee pet pins. She looks so sweet, which she was.

Midweek Munchies: Next! Plant Based Bacon

Next! is a brand of vegan meat that is available in Coles. You can find it in the dead animal refrigerated section, with a few other plant based meats. I have tried their unseasoned chicken chunks (I posted about them a few weeks ago), but this post is dedicated to their bacon. I tend not to be a huge fan of bought vegan bacons, with the exception of the ones you can get at the Asian grocery store. My heart belongs to tempeh bacon, which I can make easily at home. But I had heard good things about this, and ever curious I tried it. For science. Honestly, I should get a medal or something. I take my science very seriously.

For my maiden voyage, I decided to go all out with the vegan products and make some BBQ Bacon Cheeseburgers. Featuring the bacon, of course, Vegie Delight BBQ Burgers (these are very good), and some thin slices of a Daiya cheddar block.



But we are here for the bacon, which looks like this when you take it out of the packet. Streaky.



And cooked up! It goes a bit crispy in places, I didn't cook it to a total crisp. Though you could if you wanted.



And then I made it into a burger! Verdict? I quite liked it! Definitely more like the Asian grocery store vegan bacons than the gross other vegan bacons (Vegie Delights bacon, I am looking at you. You're gross.). It made for a fun and satistying burger. I melted the Daiya on top of the burger patty, and I also added some caramelised onions and BBQ sauce. Excellent combination.





I saved a few slices for lunch the following day to make a BLT. The ultimate test, because I love a good BLT. And it made a very good one! With mayo and avocado as well.



So, I would buy this again. If I saw it on sale. AU$10 for 12 slices is fairly pricey, and I can make a lot of tempeh bacon for that money. But I'd say definitely give it a try if.

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



A closer look at Dim Sim's gorgeous Bunny Dee personalised pin. She looks so proud!

Eating Out: Hungry Jacks

Hungry Jacks is the Australian equivalent of Burger King. While they have had a veggie burger for a long time, it was definitely not vegan. And for a long time neither were their chips. But they have started introducing some new options for the vegans of the world.

Their first offering in their vegan range was the Vegan Cheeseburger. Two veggie patties, vegan cheese, vegan mayo, ketchup, lettuce, tomato, and onion. I tried this but was super underwhelmed. The veggie patties (which fried and cooked separately from anything meat... or as separate as you can get in a Hungry Jacks kitchen) were just quite mushy and flavourless. I also was very sad with the fries I got at that visit. However, I should say that heaps of people love the vegan cheeseburger, so this as always is just my opinion.



They also have a vegan breakfast burger, which has the a single of the same patty with cheese, mayo, salad, and plus or minus avocado. As I wasn't a fan of the veggie patty, I haven't tried this. It should be noted that their hashbrowns are also vegan if you are getting breakfast!

Burger King in the US made all sorts of waves when they introduced the Impossible Whopper. Hungry Jacks wasn't far behind, launching their Rebel Whopper. It is not the Impossible burger, the burger has been developed here in Australia. Yes, the buns are vegan. And because Hungry Jacks already has vegan mayo, that is not a problem to sub... and vegan cheese if you are getting the whopper with cheese.

What has made some people very angry, both here and in the US, is that it is cooked on the same grill as the regular burgers. I know in the US they will microwave it for you if you ask, that doesn't seem to be an option here. For me personally, cross contamination is gross, but it doesn't make the end product any less vegan. But of course there has been a very vocal group online saying that because of this it is not vegan, and if you eat it you are not vegan. And then the other group saying that it is too unhealthy and you shouldn't be eating this sort of food if you are a vegan. And can we just not with the pedantic gatekeeping please? People can make their own choices with this sort of thing. If it is not for you, then it is not for you. If it is for you, then it is for you. Plus I think that seeing vegan friendly options in mainstream businesses is a very important tool in making vegans feel less isolated. Both in terms of living in places where maybe there aren't any fancy vegan options, but also just you can go and hang out with your friends and get something to eat with them. If you want to hear more about this, might I suggest checking out The Bearded Vegans podcast, they have some great episodes.

Anyway, there is my rant. So what did I decide? Yes, I tried it. For Science. And they were super upfront as I ordered telling me it was cooked on a shared surface. The way I ordered was a Rebel Whopper with Cheese, minus the cheese and the mayo, add vegan cheese and vegan mayo. That way it didn't cost me any extra! I also got a large chips to go with it, because for some reason the large was cheaper than the medium.



When it came I was happy to see it had been marked vegan on the wrapper!



And how was it? It was fine. The burger had a bit of a metallic taste, which I assume is the haem that everyone seems so desperate to have these days. Though it wasn't as meaty as the Beyond Burger. I have no idea what an Impossible Burger is like. The chips were a lot better this time too!



Would I get it again? Probably not, unless it was some sort of emergency road trip scenario. It was just fine. The shared cooking does squick me out a little. I know lots of places I eat out at that are not entirely vegan probably have some degree of shared surfaces, though most of the time I am not thinking about that. (Though I remember one time I ordered a vegan gozleme at a stall and they were cooking it and right next to it started cooking a big pile of dead cow for another customer and that was confronting.) But this is front and center in our minds. But that is my personal feeling, and doesn't make the burger any less vegan to me! As for any health concerns... seriously... I am not going to Hungry Jacks for a healthy meal. Vegan food has no obligation to be healthy, thank goodness!

Anyway, sorry for the essay on what was essentially a short post about burgers. But these are some of the fun things that we have to face as vegans, both from omnis and (sadly) sometimes other vegans. So if you are near a Hungry Jacks/Burger King and you have the Rebel/Impossible Whopper, enjoy it and let me know what you think!

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



I posted some of my cute Bunny Dee prints a while ago, and I continue to be totally obsessed with this wonderful cat loving artist. A while I go I commissioned some custom pet pins, one for each of my girls! These are gorgeous wearable works of art. I'll be showing off a closer look at each of them in coming blog posts.

Recipe Round-Up: Vive Le Vegan

Viva Le Vegan! is Dreena Burton's second cookbook. But one I have not used very often. I decided recently to change that, so here are some of the things I have made. This is the first time I have done a recipe round-up for this book, but I have posted about one other recipe from it before here

Molasses Baked Beans, Miso-Curry Roasted Potatoes, and Creamy Orange Poppy Seed Dressing: This was a delightful dinner! I made a half recipe of the baked beans, and streamlined it by using 2 tins of white beans instead of cooking them from scratch and baking for four hours to get finish cooking them. This has ketchup and blackstrap molasses in it, which gave it a great flavour. I cooked mine for an hour and a quarter in total, but because my beans were already fully cooked it ended up being very liquid. So I uncovered it after the first half an hour of baking and also increased the heat to 200dC for the last 20 minutes and it thickened up. I'd suggest reducing the amount of water in the sauce if you are making these with tinned beans. The roasted potatoes were so delightful! They have miso and curry paste (I used red curry paste, but I decreased the amount). I actually halved the amount of potatoes, but made the full amount of coating. It is a very thick coating, so I did add a smidge of hot water to loosen it up so I could easily coat my potatoes. I finished off the meal with some steamed green beans and the dressing. The dressing is creamy thanks to silken tofu! I used garlic powder instead of fresh garlic, and used maple syrup as my honey alternative. This had a lovely sweet citrust flavour.
Rating: Beans :), Potatoes :), Dressing :)



Creamy Raspberry Oatmeal: This says a full recipe will make 3-4 serves, I made a half recipe and got a reasonable sized serve. This is made with frozen raspberries, which gives it a beautiful pink colour. It has a bit of nutmeg and allspice in it for some lovely flavours. I also stirred in a bit of LSA meal (that is linseed, sunflower, almond meal), and I topped it with flaked almonds and pepitas.
Rating: :)



Hemp Power Shake: This is a very simple smoothie, consisting of non-dairy milk (I took the chocolate option - mine was an almond milk), frozen banana, and either hemp butter, hemp seeds, or hemp protein powder. I used hemp seeds. I also added a sprinkle of cinnamon, because cinnamon. This was not too rich, which was good, but also was not very filling. I served it with a persimmon, which was a nice contrast.
Rating: :)



Diane's Stork Muffins: The story with this recipe is that Dreena's sister delivered her a batch of these 'baby' muffins to her when she had recently given birth, and they were a great snack. So I made them for my friend that had just given birth. I made a half batch, for 12 small muffins. The recipe uses a blend of oat, kamut, and barley flour, and I just happened to have all of those in my cupboard because I collect and hoarde flours. They also have dates, coconut, and cranberries in it as well as spices (I forgot the fresh nutmeg, what a dope, but made up for it with cinnamon). These are tasty little snacks, but are very soft and a bit crumble especially when first out of the oven. You need to let them cook completely before trying to take them out of the tin.
Rating :)



Creamy Hummus: A perfectly good hummus recipe. It has the usual suspects of tahini, lemon juice, and garlic.
Rating: :)



Chickpea Ratatouille: This is the sort of dinner where you mix a bunch of stuff together, and pop it in the oven (I uncovered it for the last 15 minutes of baking). Easy peasy. I used zuchinni instead of capsicum, garlic powder as my garlic had gone gross, and I used agave as the honey alternative. I made a half recipe for three serves, served over baby spinach and mashed sweet potato.
Rating: :)



Veggie Stir-Fry with Spicy Almond Sauce: The sauce for this is based on almond butter, but I removed the spicy part of it by leaving the crushed red pepper out of it. I also used carrots instead of capsicum in the veggie saute, which also had celery, zucchini, broccoli, silverbeet, and mushrooms (I had a blend so I used shiitake, black fungus, and oyster). I used a bit more of the veggies than specified as well, to use stuff up. The other part of this is some tofu, marinated in rice vinegar and soy sauce and sauteed to brown and crisp before adding the the stir-fry. This was great, with nice big serves and tons of veggies.
Rating: :)



Fudgy Brownies: These brownies live up to their name! They have some ground chocolate chips in the batter, that melt during baking. I cooked for an extra 10 minutes.
Rating: :)



Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Dim Sim would like to know when you will be giving her scritches.

Cruelty Free Shop February 2020 Vegan Mystery Box

February is the third box of my six month Cruelty Free Shop Vegan Mystery Box subscription, which means we are half way through!

• Boulder Canyon Avocado Oil Chips: I haven't had these yet, but curious about how the avocado oil will be. Apparently it will give it a 'uniquely subtle, buttery flavour'.
• Lamyong Rendang Mock Meat: Too spicy for me! But my mum likes this. Normally I get her the ready-made meal Rendang pouch, where as this one needs some coconut milk added to it.
• Suma Vegan Meatballs Bolognese: I am excited to try these. Someone posted a photo of a cheesy meatball sub they made with them, and I think that is what I will do with them too!
• Cruelty Free Pantry Savoury Yeast Flakes: I require large amounts of nooch in my house at all times. I buy my nooch in bulk. So I will never say no to more nooch.
• JOM Organic Candy - Juicy Peach: I am not normally one for lollies, but lately I have been enjoying non-too sweet fruity gummies, so I hope these will be like that.
• Shelby's Raspberry Dark Chocolate Almonds: These I am excited for!
• Bite Society Milky Choc Balls - Salted Caramel: I was very sceptical of these. Their regular balls were marketed as 'vegan Maltesers', but in fact were not malty at all. Just rice crisp covered in milky chocolate. Plus I am not a caramel person. But I thought I'd try them and I was pleasantly surprised. They are smalled, so the cripsy part is less compared to the chocolate part, which is an improvement. I don't think I could taste caramel or even salt, and obviously I would have preferred something in the dark chocolate realm, but these ended up being a fun little snack treat.
• Pur Chewing Gum - Pomegranate Milk: I don't like chewing gum, it makes me gag, so I'll be giving this away.

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Dim Sim, exhausted by birthday festivities... not really, this is just how she sleeps most of the time while she is waiting for me to finish my bedtime reading so we can snuggle under the covers.