Sydney OzComicCon 2016 (Part 2)

Sunday's breakfast was much the same as Saturday's. I had some oats and fruit in my hotel, but this time I was able to score two friands at the venue because they had sent an extra one. I also discovered that the barista in the greenroom, where I had picked up a terrible peppermint tea the day before, could do a lovely vegan soy hot chocolate. So I may have had two of those.

On a non-food note, check out this amazing T-rex cosplay. It was the greatest. You should have seen her run. I love that she has a little grabby stick.





For lunch a had selected the Falafel Wrap option. It was OK, decent amount of falafel. But a little dry and not as filling or as nice as the previous day's curry.



After the con finished, I was exhausted. My original plan was to get something from Lord of the Fries, which is walking distance from the hotel, and then eat it bed. However, thankfully I was talking to Leigh on Twitter and she inspired me to get back on a train to Newtown for some actual good and fun food.

I relived my uni days with a heaping plate from the Green Gourmet dinner buffet. I can't even remember everything that was on here, but what I can remember was sticky rice, curry noodles, radish cake, steamed bun, steamed pumpkin cake, 'honey' (actually malt syrup) prawns (made from tofu skin twists, not gross mock prawns), BBQ pork, stuffed mushroom, stuffed tofu, stewed radish, mock duck, a few different veggie dishes and some pickles. SO GOOD!



And of course I had to go to Gelato Blue afterwards. This time I got a scoop of Milk Chocolate Chip Cookie and a scoop of Salted Belgian Chocolate. In a cone, of course.



On Monday, I didn't have to leave for the airport until 2pm. So I went back into Newtown to meet my friend Jen for brunch at Sadhana Kitchen. We both tried the Pumpkin Spice Lattes (on soy rather than coconut milk). My first one ever! It is like drinking slightly sweet pumpkin soup, which was a bit strange, but we decided we were both into it.



Jen had eaten earlier in the day, and wasn't all that hungry, so she just got a little doughnut. Sadhana's menu has changed quite a bit from the time I was there in January, and they now offer a vegan egg for breakfast options. However it is made from coconut and sweet potato, and I wasn't sure if it would be too coconut fatty for me, so I didn't risk it. Instead I had a Pulled Jackfruit Burger, that also had kraut and shiitake crackling (essentially dehydrated shiitakes) on it. I comes with red pepper mayo, but I had them just use their regular mayo. It also had a slice of cashew cheese, which was nice to try as cheese but didn't really mesh with the rest of the burger. Avocado would have been better.





We had a little stroll around Newtown before Jen took me back to the hotel for me to go to the airport. And I finally got to see Pia! Pia is the puppy that belongs to the framing store on Enmore Road. Bonus puppy photo of the post!



Before leaving Newtown, I picked up a Vegan Roll from Allen's Bakery on Enmore Road so that I had something to eat at the airport, because my flight didn't leave until 4pm and I didn't get home until 5.30pm and I would need something. I love their vegan roll, some sort of vegan deli slice and lots of fresh salads!



Then it was home and back to my loving kitties!

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post





My two sleeping beauties!

Sydney OzComicCon 2016 (Part 1)

OzComicCon time has come again! This last weekend I had a visit to Sydney to work at OCC again. This time, in spite of the long hours, I was able to get some decent food!

We arrived at lunchtime, so after checking in to my hotel I went for a walk to buy supplies and to get lunch. I went to a new-to-me place, Miss Chu in a good court on George St. They aren't vegan, but have several vegan options on their menu. The set up there is a bit strange, as the seating is at a counter along the outside of their wall, so I wasn't sure if they would know where I was to bring my food to. They did, but then I was told I had to go back to the front to get my cutlery. Which turns out I couldn't see in the first place because someone was sitting in front of it, and I had to reach over them and their food to get it. Odd. I got the Vegan Pho and the Vegan Peking Pancakes initially. I was disappointed in the pancakes. They have vegetables inside them including a tough, oily, bitter strip of eggplant, and they also had a chili sauce inside rather than a Hoisin-style sauce. The pho was OK, but nothing special. The broth was pretty one note. And for some reason the vegan pho doesn't come with herbs and beansprouts to put on top. I ended up getting some of their tofu and mushroom rice paper rolls to take away, with peanut and plum sauce. These were nice and fresh, but again nothing amazing.





Then it was off to the venue for the walk through, before a bit of time off before getting ready for the cocktail party. I spent some time watching the third episode of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 2, then went off to another new-to-me restaurant with my omni roomie for dinner. Peace Harmony is a Vegetarian Thai place, the menu is very mock meat heavy. Kate wasn't very hungry and got the mixed entree, which was a plate of fried stuff. She said the curry puff was good, but the spring roll pastry was too thick and the other stuff wasn't quite to her liking. I got the Pad See Ew with extra tofu instead of the mock meat (I love mock meat, nothing against it, I just wasn't feeling it that night). I love Pad See Ew, but sadly was underwhelmed. It was fine, but the sauce was lacking.





After the cocktail party (water only for me) and too little sleep, Saturday dawned and we were off for the first full day of the con. I was pretty excited, as this was the first time that there was a vegan option other than fruit salad for me! Of course I ate a first breakfast before I got there just in case (and also because I am a hungry vegan), which was some oats with blueberries and soymilk and a banana. I also had a bottled silly juice to take along. The breakfast option was a Vegan GF Friand. It was quite small, though at least quite dense. Not too bad. After tragic lunch options in Melbourne, I approached the Sydney ones with caution. On Saturday I had the vegan vegetable curry, which was actually very nice (and mild) and filling. Well done Sydney venue!





After we finished for the day, I got myself quick smart into Newtown for dinner with some Sydney friends. We went to Gigi Pizzeria, which makes the best pizza! Unlike last year, we had a very short wait to get in. And then we ordered all of the food! Starting with a stewed artichoke dish that was delicious... served with the most amazing bread. Oh. So. Good.



We shared two pizzas and a calzone. My favourite Melanzane (San Marzano tomato, grilled eggplant, cherry tomatoes & basil salsa, extra virgin olive oil), the Asparagi (Golden San Marzano tomato, fried asparagus, garlic & basil, extra virgin olive oil) and the Special Calzone (which had spinach and ricotta). They were so good! The eggplant pizza is still one of the best I have ever had (sorry for the dark photo of it), the Asparagus one was so light and garlicky, and the calzone... oh my gosh it was amazing.







While Gigi's does have dessert, I like to follow my favourite pizza with my favourite ice cream, so we headed down to Gelato Blue. After expanding their vegan options more and more over, Gelato Blue made the switch to completely vegan earlier this year. They use coconut as their base, but it is not too coconut fatty for me (though some flavours are a bit too strong with the coconut for me, so I always taste test!). I got a cone with a scoop of the new Black Forest on the bottom and a scoop of old favourite Peanut Butter Cornetto on top. So good! Michelle got a double scoop of Sticky Date and Mint Chip, and Elizabeth got a scoop of Hokey Pokey.





I love Gelato Blue! Best ice cream ever!! I was full of pizza and ice cream, two of my favourite things, and I was very happy. Plus, bonus, I was just pleasantly full, not uncomfortably full, so go team! Then it was back to the hotel for not enough sleep before the next day!

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post





Photos of my girls sent to me by my mum while I was away. Dim Sim is hiding out in her chair cave, which is one of her favourite spots to spend the day.

Eating Out: Khot Thai (Takeaway Edition)

Good news! VeganMoFo is coming back this year in November. I am super excited and can't wait to take part. Planning is afoot! Anyway, let's talk Thai food.

Earlier this year a new Thai place, Khot Thai, opened up just up the road from work. Thai isn't always the most vegan friendly, full of shrimp paste and fish sauce lurking in places that can't always be taken out of the dish, but when I had a look at their menu I was thrilled to see lots of little 'V' icons everywhere for things that could be made vegan! They also have lunch specials. So you know what followed, I have had a lot of Thai takeaway for lunch over the past several months.

The first thing I got was the Pad see Ew, one of my favourite dishes ever! Happy to report that it was great.



One day I got the Pad Thai and also some of their Fried Tofu with Peanut Sauce. The peanut sauce was delicious! Unfortunately the Pad Thai was super oily (though I have had it again when eating it and it wasn't oily at all, so maybe just a bad day).



The 'Perfect' is a sauce of coconut, shallots, onion, potato and sweet potato in a unique and tasty sauce. It was a little bit too heavy on the coconut and a bit too sweet, but was still nice.



I also got the yellow curry, which was nice and mild... though I've had it again and it was a bit spicier! Picutured here with a turmeric ginger latte and a juice.



Here are some other things that my workmates have ordered... only the vegan things of course. But in fact I think no one ordered anything non-vegan from there for lunch at work, so that is cool.

Tofu Larb Salad.



Tofu Pad Kee Mao.



Vegan Curry Puffs.



Vegan O-Cha Rolls.



Khot Thai is great! Also lots of gluten free options, if that is what you are after. I have since been there to eat in, and also for an epic takeaway feast. And I am sure there are many lunches from there in my future as well. I love it!

Khot Thai - 257 Given Tce, Paddington, QLD - 3505 0360

I am off to Sydney in the morning for another round of OzComicCon. As always, I will be very busy with the con, but I have a few fun food times planned. The venue is also providing some vegan options for breakfast and lunch (same for the Brisbane venue next weekend), so I will report back. No more fruit salad for me!

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



My little black lap kitty. Dim Sim has lost a bit more weight recently, so we are trying to up her appetite meds and feed her up. She gets her bloods checked in a couple of months to see how her kidneys are going.

Animal Lib QLD Bake Sale at The Green Edge

On Sunday I organised another bake sale for Animal Lib QLD, held once again at The Green Edge. This time we had several volunteers baking for us as well, which was wonderful! Of course, I baked a lot of things as well because I am a panic bake sale baker.

Because I live on the edge, I make a lot of new and never before made recipes for the bake sale. So here's the new things I tried.

Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins from Keep It Vegan by Aine Carlin: I made a double batch of these (a single batch makes six) for the GF table. These large muffins are based on chickpea flour, ground almonds and desiccated coconut and are sweetened with a lot of maple syrup (making them a bit more expensive to make than I realised). They are also loaded up with blueberries. Aine recommends leaving them at least a day before eating. They were lovely. Very moist, so many blueberries. I used the applesauce option instead of banana for them. I also needed to bake for an extra 20 minutes.
Rating: :)



Rum and Raisin Gluten-Freedom Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero: Another GF offering. I used the Chocolate GF Cupcake from VCTOTW as my base, but the rum and raisin was my own inspiration. I added rum extract and raisins to the batter, and topped them with the ganache recipe from the book but with some more rum extract added.
Rating: :)



Chloe's Award-Winning Chocolate orange Cupcakes with Candied Orange Peel from Chloe's Vegan Desserts by Chloe Coscarelli: You can see the tragedy that befell these cupcakes - the ganache went grainy. It was a very sad moment, because I put a lot of work into them. But I didn't have time or ingredients to make more, and it still tasted OK, so I had to settle for ugly cupcakes. I think it was the coconut milk and melting the chocolate with it in the microwave? Anyway. These are chocolate orange cupcakes, filled with an orange buttercream (I ended up with half of this left over), topped with chocolate orange ganache and decorated with candied orange peel. I am not a fan of making candy things, even though they were pretty. It was a hot and sticky mess, and I burnt my finger. Which made the ganache fiasco all the sadder. Still, they tasted good!
Rating: :) even with the crappy ganache



Peanut Butter and Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Buttercream from Cookin' Crunk by Bianca Phillips: Technically these should be peanut banana cupcakes, as there is no peanut butter in the batter, instead there are crushed peanuts. I needed to bake these cupcakes for nearly an hour (rather than 25 minutes) to get the toothpick to come out clean (it wasn't just the banana, it tasted like raw batter still). The long baking time coupled with them being oil free meant they were a bit on the dense side, but tasted great. And that was balanced out by huge mounds of peanut buttercream frosting.
Rating: :)



My Favourite Maple Walnut Blondies from The Easy Vegan Cookbook by Kathy Hester: These were a little perplexing as there was no baking powder or soda in the recipe. The description does say that they are impossibly fudgelike, but I added 1/4 tsp of baking powder just to give them a little bit of rise. I also added a few drops of maple extract, which along with the maple syrup gave them a very strong maple flavour. The recipe called for melted coconut oil, but I used melted Nuttelex. And I also used brown sugar for coconut sugar and a mix of 2/3 AP flour and 1/3 whole spelt flour instead of whole-wheat pastry flour.
Rating: :)



Macadamia and White Chocolate Crispy Treats (with Strawberry) from 500 Vegan Recipes by Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman: I don't like white chocolate, and had a block of white chocolate with strawberry chunks that I got in a mystery box. So using it to make something for a bake sale seemed sensible. These cripsy treats set up and held together perfectly! Because there were some strawberry chunks in the chocolate (which was melted, but the chunks remained), I added 1 tsp of strawberry extract to give the whole thing a strawberry theme. I was not a huge fan, just because of my white chocolate issues, but everyone else said they were good!
Rating: :) (based on other people's reviews)



And I of course made my two bake sale regulars. Berry Patch Brownies (from Let Them Eat Vegan by Dreena Burton) and Soulhaus Cookies (from Great Gluten-Free Vegan Eats by Allyson Kramer).





Bec, who is on the committee of ALQ and was my co-baker for the bake sale we did earlier this year, focused her efforts on making nearly 100 cinnamon rolls!! They are always a big hit. Bec is about to leave us for 6 months to go and study at the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York! I am very envious, and can't wait to see what she is bringing to bake sales once she gets back!



And of course we had several other great bakers! Here's what they brought.

Peanut Butter Oreo Brownies and Carrot & Walnut Cake.



Oreo and Strawberry Glazed Doughnuts.



Brownies.



Chocolate Cupcakes, Banana Bread, Banana & Strawberry Muffins.



Gluten-Free Fluffernutters. These are PB cookies with aquafaba marshmallow fluff in the middle! It was my first time eating aquafaba anything. I am behind the times. I still haven't made anything with it yet. It was good!



Oreo and Strawberry Frosted Vanilla Cupcakes.



Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing and Caramel Drizzle.



Gingerbread Cupcakes.



Mini custard tarts. We popped several of these straight in our mouths to sustain us.



Savoury Faux Lox Filos. These were filled with a carrot-based salmon and creamy bechamel sauce. I bought a couple to heat up and have for lunch afterwards. YUM! I love good savoury options.



The Gluten-Free Table.



The Gluten-Full Table.



All the tables, full of food!



We raised over $1500, which will go towards ALQ's campaigns (including Greyhound Racing, Ditch Dairy, and Rethink Rodeos). So grateful to everyone who baked and everyone who came!

Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



Sunday was also Sahara's 15th birthday, as I mentioned in my last post. I made broccoli for dinner so she could have a little bit. She is mad for broccoli, but can't have it much because she has IBD. But she got a few pieces for her birthday. Of course, the pieces I put in her bowl were not as interesting to her as the pieces that were on my plate. This is her 'GIVE ME YOUR BROCCOLI' face.