La Cena en Los Amates

     While T & I are vegan most of the time, evvverry once in a while we break our veganism for particular exceptions that we deem very worth while. For us it's been part of how transitioning to a diet free of animal products has been a bit more doable. Different things work for different people, and allowing ourselves these occasional "cheats" has made the whole thing seem a bit less extreme and easier to keep up with during the other 99% of our lives.
     I bring this up because our most recent cheat was at Los Amates, a Mexican restaurant in Fitzroy. Los Amates is probably my favourite Mexi place in Melbourne- to me it seems the most authentic, both food and decor wise. Almost every other attempt at Mexican food I've tried in Australia (with the exception of another favourite, Trippy Taco) has been something with beans covered in tasty cheese and jalapenos, and seems to be based on some weird Australian speculation of what Mexican food might be like. Los Amates, on the other hand, makes their own authentic salsas (including Molé sauce!), uses ingredients like nopales (cactus) and black beans in dishes, and overall is usually on par with the food quality and taste that I've experienced in Mexico and the US. Also there is a Latin American grocery across the street that sells lots of authentic, imported ingredients for your home experimentation!

     Anyway, I digress. We met our friends C & J who were visiting from Brisbane here for the first sitting at 6:30pm. Upon arrival we were told that we needed to be finished by 8pm, which was a bit of a surprise as they had said 8:30pm over the phone. Understanding that most restaurants do hold two sittings and knowing that they fit our booking in at the last minute, we said we'd try our best (secretly knowing there wasn't much of a chance of dinner happening that quickly). We ordered a jug of sangria to sip on while we caught up with C & J, took in the brightly decorated surrounds, and decided what we wanted for dinner. Luckily, a few minutes after bringing our drinks, the host told us to no longer worry about the time limit, which was good news and definitely made the experience more enjoyable! 
     One glass of sangria in and T & I still couldn't figure out what to order, so we ended up splitting the indecisive person's dream, the vegetarian combination  platter for two ($36). It was incredible! On the plate was a great array of little bits of their best stuff including sopes, quesadillas, molletes, empanadas, and bean taquitos. I got my fill of my favourites (those nopales and black beans I mentioned before!) and was perfectly full by the end of the meal. We washed dinner down with yet another jug of sangria and left very happy campers. I love this place and can't wait to go back- I think next time we'll see what they can make vegan. 

LOS AMATES (click for website & menu)

Address: 34 Johnston St, Fitzroy VIC 3065 

Ph: 03 9417 0441

PROS: great fresh authentic Mexican food, morish sangria, fun atmosphere, wait & kitchen staff that actually speaks Spanish, oh and that amazing MOLÉ sauce!! Also they sell their salsas in jars if you can't get enough while you're there.

CONS: Mexican beers that are overpriced as compared to some other restaurants, Occasional long wait for food (although not on this occasion), slight confusion over the sitting time lengths

Summer is Arriving!

One of my more shy sunflowers, on it's way to being fully revealed!

Christmas

Breakfast BBQ

Christmas was thankfully very low-key this year and began with T & I having a breakfast BBQ with eggs from T's workmate's yard, tomatoes, hash browns, vegie bbq steaks, and mimosas! We spent some time watching the crazy hail storm, I baked some hot soft pretzels, and then of course it was necessary to cook up some vegan cheese dips for said pretzels out of Cheezly and vegan cream cheese! We spent the rest of the day hanging out with our animals and watching movies. Santa was good to me this year and I got some nice things. I'm particularly excited to try some recipes from my two new cookbooks - American Vegan Kitchen and Vegan Diner!

I hope everyone has enjoyable holidays that are as stress free as possible!!

Fresh hot pretzels with salt, jalapenos,
roasted garlic, and different herbs

Jenny's had too much Christmas Cheer

Another Awesome Dinner at the East Brunswick Club

One of my favourite places to have a meal out at is the East Brunswick Club. The EBC just looks like any Melbourne pub that serves great beer and pub meals-but there's a twist. The twist is that there is an all vegan/vegetarian menu that allows us cruelty-free eaters to take part in the full Aussie pub experience- parmas, burgers, even fish and chips (and their chips are really moreish)! Almost every time I go there I order some version of the parma, which is a slab of amazing wheat gluten fake chicken covered in crispy golden breadcrumbs, vegan cheese, and whatever toppings said variation includes! The Americana Parma that is pictured to the right is topped with vegan ham and American-style mustard. All parmas come with a side of chips and salad to round out your meal.

Vegan Americana Parma

Vegan Fish & Chips

T's Vegan BBQ Burger & Chips

Vegan Choc Peanut Butter Cheesecake

The quality at the EBC is always consistently high- the only thing I've noticed is that the wait can be a bit long when they are busy, so it's best to get there early. The EBC also features $12 Jugs, Parmas, Burgers & Pastas on Mondays (vegan & regular) and $12 Parmas on Tuesdays during trivia. And by the end of your meal, if you haven't filled up on a parma, burger, or other yummy vegan pub fare, there's even an exclusively vegan dessert menu! This time I shared a slice of decadent Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake with T. It was to die for!!

THE EAST BRUNSWICK CLUB (Click for website & menu)
Address: 280 Lygon Street, Brunswick East VIC 3057
Phone: (03) 9388 9794 ‎

PROS: Great food selection, $12 Buck Mondays, Trivia Tuesdays, Good beer, High quality vegan food, Amazing cheesecake, etc.

CONS: Sometimes quite slow when busy, Hipsters frequent this place.

Lilypad Cafe - Veggie Breakfast in Cairns

On the last night of our holiday in Cairns, we stayed at Gilligan's Backpackers, which was incidentally across the street from the Lilypad Cafe. I had found a few good reviews for their coffee and food so we made it a point to stop there for our last holiday breakfast. I was starving and while the cafe is not exclusively veg, the plethora of vegetarian & vegan breakfasts was slightly overwhelming for me! I settled on a big veggie breakfast, while T ordered an open sandwich with mushrooms, avocado, tomato and capsicum in a takeaway

box in case he couldn't finish it.

Firstly, the coffee was very tasty and met our snobby Melbourne standards :). And the food, well, let's just say we were amazed by the generous servings but still managed to make all that food disappear quite quickly! If I'm ever back in Cairns this will be the first place I go to from the airport!

Lilypad Cafe

72 Grafton St (Opposite Gilligan's)

Cairns, QLD 4080

Pros: Great food, Huge serves, Affordable prices, Meat meals for those who desire them, Above-standard coffee, Convenient location for backpackers, Outside seating

Cons: Perhaps only the strangers who could walk by and harass you if you are sitting outside, but we didn't experience this and actually enjoyed people watching!

Lord Of The Fries does Breakfast!

Ohhhh Yes! Can't wait to try these!! Why oh why doesn't my morning commute take me past Flinders St Station??

Winter Veggies!

Coming from the Northeast US, the idea that anything can survive (and on top of that, grow!) during winter is totally amazing to me. Before moving to Australia I never knew that winter gardening existed, or that some of my favourite veggies were specifically winter ones. Arriving in Melbourne and starting my own veggie patch was a real eye-opener for me, and nearly 4 years later I am getting pretty good at the whole winter-gardening thing!

One of my favourite veggies to grow is Silverbeet/Swiss Chard (click for nutritional info), for a few reasons. A) It's so easy. Like, "put it in the ground and forget you planted it" easy. My favourite kind of gardening. Now onto reason B) It's gorgeous. I like to buy Rainbow Silverbeet seeds because they end up looking like ornamental plants but are really edible! Which brings me to C) Silverbeet is delicious! I can't seem to find "Collard Greens" in Australia so for whatever recipe I used to use Collards in, I now use Silverbeet. Chiffonade-cut and sauteed with garlic? Yep. Chopped and sauteed with sultanas and orange juice a la Bryant Terry? Oh yes!! The list goes on and on but it's great for baking, steaming, sauteeing, etc. and very healthy for you too!

Above is our veggie patch in June, with Rainbow Silverbeet, Cauliflower, and Broccoli seedlings. On the right you will see the first of many Silverbeet harvests that will occur this winter. These were picked in mid-August. How gorgeous are they??

See below for my favourite way to use these greens, by one of my favourite chefs! If you don't know about Bryant Terry and his book Vegan Soul Kitchen, you need to get educated!!