Mmm... Vegan Gelatinous Meat Substitutes!

There seem to be two camps of vegetarians and vegans: those who are into eating vegetarian "meat" substitutes and those who think such things are totally blasphemous. I fall into the former category- I stopped eating meat because I loved animals and wasn't morally okay with eating beings that weren't really any different than my cat or dog, not because I particularly didn't like the taste of meat. The fact that there are foods that I can eat (in moderation, just like everything else) that replicate what I would be missing out on is, for me, awesome.

That being said, I still am totally amused and amazed by what meat substitutes people come up with. Recently while shopping at a vegetarian food store, I found this:

Now I can see how someone would really miss, say, chicken wings, schnitzels, ribs, and burgers. What I can't comprehend is someone thinking "man, I like being vegan but I sure do miss my gelatinous chicken feet and snails!" I've also seen (and once tried) vegetarian "intestine", from which animal it was supposed to be I'm not particularly sure. This kind of stuff just comes down to cultural differences in diet, but it still makes me giggle. To each their own, right? Hope you newbies to the world of vegetarianism/veganism find some amusement in this as well :)

Bagels!!

So now that we have our new kitchen stand mixer, I've been really keen to make more dough-related goods. It was a cold morning and I couldn't think of anything more perfect than to have fresh, hot bagels for brunch.

After some quick research I settled on this recipe:

New York-Style Bagels | New York-Style Bagels Recipe | the sophisticated gourmet

It was easy to follow and the only thing I can really say about it is that I'm sure it would become easier to handle the dough with more experience. My bagels didn't come out as puffy and gorgeous as the ones in those photos, but they still tasted amazing!! The ones with roasted garlic flakes were my favourite, but I think T liked the jalapeno ones the best.

P.S. It was a fiddle-with-phone-camera-settings type of day!

Rose Petal Jam (or Sauce, as it turns out)

Being that I have a stunning and fragrant rose bush in my back yard, I thought it would be clever to put it to good use and try to make some Rose Petal Jam. I found a recipe that detailed step-by-step instructions, and away I went. First I picked the petals, then boiled them down into a syrup, added the magical colour-reviving lemon juice and sugar, and boiled again. Unfortunately I must not have boiled enough (or over-boiled, I can't tell!) because it never set into a jam but is instead a delicous rose syrup now. Next time I will use a sugar thermometer and find a recipe that includes a gelling agent, and see if those factors help me out a bit. Overall it was a very interesting experience, being my first foray into jam making, and gave me a taste of delicious floral summer in the middle of winter!

Vegetarian Phở Hunters, Rejoice!

With the cold weather in Melbourne making me reminiscent about my time in Southeast Asia last year, I was really craving some Vietnamese food. The problem was that vegetarian/vegan phở is not easily found amongst the countless Vietnamese shops around Footscray (my local mini-Asia) and Richmond (the closest/most accessible east-side version of Footscray). Experiencing a motivating craving and being the relentless researcher that I am, I was determined to finally get the job done. I read review after review of noodle restaurants until I found one that seemed suitable and had a good amount of vegetarian options- Thanh Nga Nine, 160 Victoria St, Richmond.

After a short tram ride from the city, T & I arrived there a bit earlier than expected and while the staff was still eating their own dinner (oops!). We ordered a couple drinks and had a look through the menu, slightly overwhelmed by how many items were on it! While there is a dedicated vegetarian section, there are also other vegetarian dishes scattered throughout the regular, gigantic menu. Luckily the staff member serving us was helpful and explained what the specialties were and what we could eat. We ordered the vegetarian version of the "Vietnamese Pancakes" (see below) as a starter, a bowl of vegetarian phở for me as a main, and Salt & Pepper Eggplant for T as a main.

The "Vietnamese Pancakes" came out first, and I'm using quotes because I've never seen anything like these before and they didn't resemble what my American mind conjures up when I think "pancake". They were crispy rice flour based half-shells filled with a custardy mung bean paste, smooth coconut cream, crispy fried onions (I think) and a few other ingredients I can't remember, and were served with amazing dipping sauces (one was coconut based and the other chili based) that allowed you to tailor each pancake to your particular preference. These ended up to be a perfect mix of crispy, soft, sweet, salty, and hot for me. I imagine they would be a love-it-or-hate-it dish for most people as the texture combination and taste are quite foreign to Westerners! Luckily I loved them, even though they were a wee bit more oily than I usually like my food to be.

When I was presented with the platter of bean sprouts and lime that signified the impending arrival of my Phở, it was a similar anticipatory feeling to when the house lights go down in a venue just before the band you've been waiting to see is about to play. Nerdy and excited? Yes. Warranted? Also yes. I had been wanting to eat vegetarian phở for years, and my time had finally arrived. Although I don't have many previous experiences with vegetarian phở in Melbourne, I thought my soup was great! It really hit the spot on a cold and grey wintery evening. There were a few different types of mock meats in there, more noodles than I could probably eat in 24 hours, and a deliciously spiced broth.

T's salt and pepper eggplant was also amazing- a great juxtaposition of crispy batter with silky eggplant, garnished with spicy and fresh chillies and herbs. No complaints there!

Overall, we both enjoyed ourselves and will have a hard time deciding whether to order the same things because they were great, or new things just to try them!

Pros: huge portions, good variety for vegetarians, helpful staff, interesting and delicious dishes, affordably priced.

Cons: the hunt for vegetarian dishes littered throughout the menu in non-vegetarian designated areas is a bit exhausting, and some dishes are slightly too oily for my liking, but that is extremely subjective.

Thanh Nga Nine

160 Victoria St, Richmond

03 9427 7068

You can find their menu online here-

http://www.agfg.com.au/guide/vic/melbourne/melbourne-eastern-suburbs/richmond/restaurants-dining/thanh-nga-nine-vietnamese-restaurant-bar

Aduki Vegan Bake-Off

Recently my husband T & I participated in the Aduki Vegan Bake-Off in Melbourne. It was held at the Kindness House on Brunswick Street, and I have to say I was really impressed with not only how many people showed up and competed, but also by how good all the food was!! After the judges tried each item, it was opened up to all the Vegan Vultures to sample for ourselves. People were hovering around tables, just waiting for the dishes to be brought back for tasting. We got to try samples of several dishes, and I must say there were some tasty sweets there!! I especially liked the Lamingtons!

So back to the competition... T baked a Sweet Onion & Eggplant Pizza, and I made Peach Crumble Cupcakes.

We both won our respective categories (Savoury & Cupcakes) and I was lucky enough to win the Grand Prize as well!! My prize was a gift basket of lovely vegan goodies, a very cute apron & potholder, some recipe books, and a cool comic book wallet! I obviously am thrilled and definitely have had my baking confidence boosted a bit :)

13 Green Kitchen Tips!

I stole these from www.care2.com, added a few in myself, and hope to continue compiling ideas like this in the future!

1. Cover pans while cooking to prevent heat loss.

2. Make sure your pan covers the coil of your range. If you can see coil peeping out from the sides of your pan, you are losing energy and you need a bigger pan!

3. Try one-pot cooking. Stews, soups, and other great peasant meals only take one burner to cook and they are so nourishing and satisfying!

4. Just before your food is cooked completely, turn off the oven or burner and allow the heat in the pot or pan to continue the cooking process for you.

5. The less liquid and fat you use, the quicker the cooking time.

6. Always make more food than you plan to use and freeze it for your own “fast food.”

7. Leftovers take less energy to reheat on top of the stove rather than in the oven.

8. Most of us eat a lot of pasta. Make extra, toss with olive oil, and keep in the fridge so you don’t have to heat an entire pot of water to the boiling point every time you want some.

9. If you have one, use a pressure or slow cooker. It really saves on energy.

10. Don't open your slow cooker until you absolutely have to!!

11. Look for baking recipes that only use one bowl, or tailor your recipes so that they use as few bowls as possible. Add the dry ingredients first with your glass measuring cup/jug, then add the wet. This allows you to use the same measuring cup (provided it shows all the measurements you need) and prevents the dry materials from sticking to the sides of the cup!

12. Put foods that you are warming up in the oven in as soon as you turn the oven on. In general, pre-heating is not necessary (except in the case of baking). What's the point of spending a half hour heating an oven just to open the door and reduce the heat again when you put the food in??

13. DON'T OPEN THE OVEN DOOR unless you are taking food out or putting it in!! Keep the heat in there and save the energy it would take to reheat it after every time you let the heat out.

Mmm Vegan Cupcakes

Ok so I've already run into a bit of writer's block when thinking of what to post. So I figured I would start off with maybe some photos of cupcakes (who doesn't like them?) that I was selling at a market at the Edinburgh Castle in Brunswick a few weeks ago. They are all vegan, and all awesome!


From the back there is:
Iced Tea Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese frosting, garnished with mint and a straw, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with a Cinnamon Glaze,
Chocolate Cupcakes with Oreo Frosting and an Oreo on top,
and
Vanilla Cupcakes stuffed with Cherry Jam, topped with Coconut Almond Icing, Chocolate Shavings, and more Cherry Jam!

The sun was really strong all day (which made my amateur picture taking difficult!) so I could only keep out this many at a time while I hid the rest in an aluminium tray under the table in the shade! Its hard to say how many I sold because we traded a few with other vendors and ate some ourselves as well :) Overall it was a really fun day just hanging out, drinking, and looking at other people's wares.