I'm not dead.

Spring.has.sprung. After non stop blogging for veganmofo, I need some time off! See you next week kidlets! xo

How It All Vegan

So I cant find any information anywhere, but does anyone know why Tanya Barnard stopped putting out the cookbooks with Sarah Kramer? Just curious. Is she doing anything else?

Spinach "Ricotta" Raviolis

Inspired by wonton wrapper fever, I had some spinach about to go bad in the fridge so I decided to make spinach "ricotta" raviolis. Again this made a metric BUTTLOAD so you might want to halve the recipe. Also, as I discovered, you need to freeze them all individually not in one huge clump haha.

Ingredients (recipe from The Voluptuous Vegan)

Stack of fresh wonton wrappers
500 gm of tofu (firm)
3 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp of mellow barley miso
some steamed spinach I used about half a bunch of silverbeet, you going to have to wing the amounts...

Whizz the mixture in a food processor. Voila. Fold into whatever shapes you like. Place into boiling water to cook (make sure they dont stick to the bottom), they take about 2-4 minutes to cook, they are ready when they float to the top of the water. I ate them with a basic red sauce, a recipe I will give you another time. Cindy and Michael posted this awesome you tube video on how to pleat them, here it is:

Vegie Bar - Fitzroy - Melbourne

Ahh the Vegie Bar. I cant ever really say anything bad against you. I do, however pretty much get the same thing every time and its always amazing (I tend to steer clear of their asian dishes, never as good as the real thing). House salad with rice balls, a massive salad of raw vegies, beans/legumes and their brown rice balls with homemade peanut sauce. Bill got my usual winter meal which is the vegie roast with dips. I also always get an immunity juice and I think Bill had the power cleanser. Add a pot of tea and an espresso and we waddled out of there $20 lighter each. Insanely cheap, cheerful meal. I lived on Rose st for a year and I can pretty much bet I ate *something* there everyday. Sit in the window for some amazing people watching (is there an actual 'ugly' person in Fitzroy? I practically window lick when I'm there) or sit in the adjoining room to enjoy the last of the late night summer sunset. Teh hearts my love, the vegie bar.

Deets: 378 Brunswick St Fitzroy, 03 9417 6935 http://www.vegiebar.com.au/
$$: house salad with rice balls, vegie roast with dips, 2x large fresh juices, 1x tea, 1x espresso, $40.20.

Cauliflower with almonds, raisins and babies

Smitten Kitchen is my favourite food blog (even though I cant eat much of anything on there anymore), so when Deb posted a recipe that was pretty much vegan I POUNCED, ran home and made it! It was YUMMMMY. I swapped the capers for babies*.

*babies aren't a vegan ingredient.

Recipe here.

Yes! Sushi - Port Melbourne

yuuuuummmmmm. A quick and easy meal. I tried to go to Bowl of Soul but Alina and Shane had to take their dog to the vet (I hope he/shes ok!) so they were closed. Yes! Sushi is my back up. They're the only sushi place I know that does brown rice inari and sushi rolls. All really fresh and yummy.

Deets: 169 Bay St Port Melbourne VIC 3207, Australia +61 3 9681 8885
$$: the seaweed salad, avocado inari and vegetarian handroll was $6.90

Monday Melbourne Roundup

Last week was my final week of total poverty from my trip to the US/Sydney so I didn’t get up to much. Also I'm having a 'controlled' nervous breakdown so I haven't left bed most of the week. Carrie Fisher must have a full on posture pedic bed because my back is fucking killing me.

Eats/Drinks

Baba Leventine

Review here

Out

Book Club

This months book was "Brave New World" - by Aldous Huxley. I had never read it. Thanks for delivering my nightmares to me in such a succinct form. Seriously this is the stuff I dream about, ovum, blood, birth, pregnancy, the apocalypse, the future, robots, sex with robots ( yeah and mainly ALL AT ONCE like dreaming about women giving birth in these burned out, bombed post apocalyptic surgery rooms). Huxley, what a fucking psychedelic guy. Great book. I think its contributing to my breakdown.

Baba Leventine - Brunswick East - Melbourne

I was vegan about 6 years ago for 2 years. And I was full on, militant. I went back to being vegetarian for 3 years, last year I went back to eating fish and calamari to going back to being vegan this year (it all changed when I went snorkelling in Perth and I cried on the beach after watching the fish swim around, I couldnt look them in the eye). I told myself I didn't want to go as militant as I was last time (as I found it really super took away from my enjoyment of life - however things have markedly changed now, vegan food is way more easily accessible out - especially in Melbourne), however knowing myself and what I am like, I put loose parameters around it as if I didn't I would instantly want to rebel against it.

So I've been about 98% vegan since April. Occasionally about once a fortnight through poor planning I wouldn't have breakfast in the house, so I would have a muffin from Greens. Within about 2 months I couldn't do it anymore because the smell of egg was so overpowering it made me gag. I occasionally eat a 'milk coffee' or 'milk arrowroot' biscuit at work, however this trip to Baba Leventine was my first blatant side step from veganism where I ate a feta pumpkin pizza. Man was I SICK. I loved feta SO SO much and it really added nothing to the pizza. I'm glad to have these side steps because now I wont get sad over not being able to have fetta anymore. Its all a learning process.

So Baba Leventine is amazing. I love it there. We ate the beetroot/mint dip with fresh pide and breads (no picture, Clare and I just INHALED it), the roast pumpkin and honey salad (I eat honey - I'm not sure how I feel about the whole bees honey thing, anyone want to change my mind?) and the spinach rice pilaf. The wine was lovely and it was just a class night. The service is lovely if not a little over bearing. Baba is always our backup when we cant get into Rumis (I mean really, who takes bookings these days - so not hot), the new Rumis space looks geigh though so perhaps Baba will be it from now on. Oh and I should add, got 4 or more people and you can do a tasting platter feast, and they can accomodate vegans/vegies and omnis all at the same time. I NEED to do that next time.

Food: a mouthwatering gut stuffing 9/10
Service: friendly but too overbearing didnt give us our $20 change back and assumed it was a tip 7/10
Space: a lovely massive warehouse this is what Seven Seeds should have been like 9/10

Overall: 16.5/20

Deets: No need to book. 80 Lygon Street, Brunswick East, 039380 8534
$$: I have no idea, I got too drunk. So we had 2 bottles of wine, a pumpkin fetta pizza, beetroot dip, pumpkin salad, rice pilaf, Daniel had the lamb special and all three of us have turkish coffee (its really not great dont get it) and 3 pieces of turkish delight. $135.

Coconut Cream Pie with Chocolate Ganache

and just so we're clear on what kind of tofu you need (its not in the fridge! its in the asian food aisle at the supermarket, you use this for desserts/dressings etc)



Adapted from Real Food Daily by Anne Gentry

Coconut Cream Pie

2 boxes of japanese tofu (soft) and rinsed
1 cup of sweetner
3/4 of coconut milk
1/3 cup of canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract (I found this too strong so maybe half?)
1/4 tsp sea salt
3/4 shredded coconut

1x pie crust (I use a 9 inch pan and I had a wee bit too much filling so use a big crust so you can build up the sides)

Lets talk about the pie crust, I made a wholemeal crust, but I didn’t like it. I am yet to find a vegan, sweet pie crust that I really like. Bueller? So I'll leave the whole issue of a pie crust up to you. Blend all the ingredients together with 1/2 cup of the shredded coconut. Bake for 25 minutes at 350, then sprinkle the remaining coconut on the top and continue cooking for another 15 mins or longer, until the coconut is toasted. Let sit for at least 20-30 minutes before cutting up and serving (longer is better but as if you can wait for that!). Serve with a big drizzle of ganache!

Chocolate Ganache

1 block of 70% dark chocolate
Some milk substitute

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler (or heat it in the microwave) add a bit of milk every now and then until you get a good drizzle consistency. Voi la!

Ps yeah yeah the photos are shit. I'll get it sorted out.

Pumpkin, sage and pecan raviloi with white bean and garlic sauce and frizzled leeks

Recipe directly from The Voluptuous Vegan

This was one of my epic dinner parties, where I think oh yes I'll make all this food, nothing I've ever made before and it will be totally fine and I wont get stressed at all. WRONG (because I served this with coconut cream pie with chocolate ganache as well - recipe to come). Only do this when you have the time. This made a serious BUTTLOAD of raviolis, so you may want to halve the recipe? You can get fresh wonton wrappers in a stack from an asian supermarket in the fridge. Wonton wrappers have been a complete revelation, easy, fresh, vegan pasta!

Ingrediants

1 butternut, halved (you will need 2 cups of cooked squash)
3 tbsp of olive oil
1 onion, finely diced (1 cup)
1/2 cup of chopped pecans
2 tbsp of fresh minced sage
Fresh ground salt and pepper
Wonton wrappers

Roast the pumpkin face down in an oven heated at 350 (I have an old oven so American cookbooks work for me, but that’s about 180 degrees). Bake for 45 minutes or until tender (I found it needed at least an hour but again maybe my ancient oven). Scoop the flesh into a bowl and mash. While its cooking fry up the onion in the oil until they are brown then add the pecans and the sage until heated. Add salt and pepper to taste. Next time I'm going to throw in a teaspoon of maple syrup too, I think this will really bring out the flavours of the pumpkin and the pecans. I then blended the ingredients, the cookbook just uses them as is. I found it was a little too chunky to work with. Put a big teaspoon at the back end of a wonton wrapper and wet the sides with your finger tips (dipped in a bit of water), fold over and press together with a fork. This made approx 40 raviolis, but will probably make more because I was experimenting with wrappers/amounts/folding etc. Cook the raviolis in boiling water for a few minutes, they are done when they float to the top (make sure they're not sticking to the bottom like mine were!).

White Bean and Garlic Sauce

1 tin of butter beans, rinsed
2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
5 sprigs of fresh sage
Handful of fresh thyme twigs
1 bay leaf
2.5 cups of stock
2 tsp of lemon juice
Fresh pepper

Cook the onions in the oil until they are starting to brown, add the garlic and cook a few more minutes. Add the beans and 2.5 cups of stock. Tie herbs together with a string (I didn’t and just fished them out later), bring to a simmer for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to marry. Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Remove the bay leaf and herbs. Ladle over raviolis.

Frizzled Leeks

3 medium leeks
1 tbsp of olive oil (I used way more but that’s because I'm a fatty)

Trim and clean the leeks, cut in half lengthwise then cut into 2 inch pieces, toss in the oil and salt and put in a baking tray in an oven heated to 375. Stir every 5 minutes or so for half an hour until they are brown and crispy. Serve a blob on top of the pasta! This seriously took the dish to the next level.

Borscht with Dill Sour Cream

Adapted from The Voluptuous Vegan

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
2 cups of shredded cabbage
1 bay leaf
3 medium beets, peeled and cubed
1 medium carrot, cut thin into half moons
1 medium potato, cubed slightly larger than the beets
1 can of butter beans or cannelini beans
8 cups of stock
2 tbsp of mirin
2 cups of chopped beet greens or swiss chard or spinach
salt to taste
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Cook the onions in the oil until they start to turn brown, add the cabbage and a cup of stock and cook until the cabbage starts to wilt. Add the bay leaf, beets, carrot, potatoes, beans and stock and bring to the boil and simmer on medium heat until the beets/potatoes are tender and cooked (about 20 minutes but test every once in a while). Add the mirin and greens and cook for another 5 minutes. I then put the soup in the blender, I like a chunky, thick borsch so I take out most of the fluid then whizz. I then reserve the beet stock/juice in the freezer for the next time I make borscht. Plate, and sprinkle with some lemon juice and black pepper and a huge dollop of dill sour cream.

Chocolate caramel pie - Tart'n'Round - Thornbury, Melbourne

No seriously. Look at that thing. Just look at it. There is rice bubbles in the caramelly part. Clare and I shared this, after brunch at Trippy Taco, there was not much more we could fit in. The food reminded me A LOT (especially the ice cream) of the desserts that used to be a Vegetarian Orgasm (remember that place), turns out it IS the same guy (Andrew is his name). I always wondered where he went! I didnt like the ice cream, it has the weird fake 'whipped topping' taste (that was dominant in a lot of the wares at Vegetarian Orgasm), but the cake was outstanding. Seriously. Oh and did I mention gluten free? They also make what looks like a YUMMY range of food. Cant wait to go back there!

deets: 839 High st Thornbury 3071 Ph:9480 0818
$$: cake was $4 plus scoop of icecream $1.80 and coffee was $2 (or $2.50 I cant remember)

Monday Melbourne Roundup

Out

Nothing, it was more like "in". Suffering a bit of the depressed agoraphobia this week, so I had dinner parties instead.

Lost and Found Market

Sucks that its half the size, but what it lost in space it did not lose in quality. I find being there very meditative as I like pretty much everything. I wish I knew what I was doing with my life so I could start buying expensive furniture. There was a couch there that made my heart skip a beat. Best second hand store in Melbourne.

Eats/Drinks

Idea Food and Wine

Review here

Von Haus

Dropped in for a coffee post Idea Food and Wine, favourite place in Melbourne. Its like heroin. Wub you.

Trippy Taco

Review here

Tart n Round

Review here.


La Panella Vegan Bakery

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD. We basically had vegan day on Saturday (see everything above) so we toddled into Preston from Tart n Round to go to La Panella to stock up on frozen goods. Almost.ate.them.all. Thankfully I was so sugared out from Tart n Round that I didn’t buy any donuts this time. I got 2x mushroom pies and 2x sausage rolls for $7. <3 supreme master!

Huevos Rancheros - Trippy Taco - Collingwood - Melbourne

DUUUUUUUUUUDDDDDDDDDDDDDDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

Food: A mouthwatering, I cant believe I can get good cheap Mexican food in Melbourne (the coffee isnt great, just a heads up) 9/10
Service: A very sweet and lovely 10/10 (they forgot our fries and gave us the money back)
Space: we sat on the sidewalk, perfect for people watching, the inside space is very tiny though 9/10

an almost 19/20 (even though I dont rate 'fast food' places)

deets: 48 Smith St (03) 9415 7711
$$: Clare and I shared the Huevos Rancheros and were STUFFED $13 (plus $1 I think for vegan), espresso I think was $2?!?!

Szechuan Eggplant - Idea Food and Wine - Melbourne

My ex is a big meaty guy and I wanted to take him out for his birthday. I wanted to take him to one of the more amazing meat places in Melbourne like Giuseppe, Arnaldo and Sons or The Station Hotel, but of course they barely do vegetarian let alone vegan, which is fair enough. So I still wanted to take him to a place that we could both enjoy. Asian food is a happy medium. I had been to Idea Food and Wine on the recommendation of The Melbourne Veg Good Food guide, once before and it was amazing. It was the same experience this time around.

I had the szechuan eggplant hotpot and asian greens, with roti bread and a bit of rice. Seriously that eggplant is one of the most yummy things I've ever eaten. The greens were plain and a little disappointing, the roti was lovely and the rice.. was, well, rice. Adrian had the Szechuan beef and enjoyed it immensely. You probably think its odd that I would try and take him to a steak place for his birthday, but at the end of the day my choices are my choices and everyone's are their own, and my ex enjoys food and wine immensely and eats a shiteload of meat so I wanted to do something for him that he would really enjoy. I don’t believe in pushing my views on other people and it would have been incredibly rude of me to make him go to a vegetarian restaurant for his birthday (something that he would not have enjoyed as much). I could have of course chosen to give him a present that was not paying for meat, but he is a poor student who gets to go out for dinner very little and its his biggest pleasure. Judge me if you will.

Food: A Matt Preston, eye rolling about in my head 9/10
Service: Pristine (point off for being a little over bearing actually) 9/10
Space: A very posh but not too posh and spacious 9/10

Overall 18/20

Deets: Idea Food and Wine: 146-148 Little Bourke St Melbourne 3000 VIC # Phone: (03) 9663 8829
$$: Szechuan Eggplant $19 Rice $2 Roti Bread $5 Tsing Tao $8