Lime & Coconut Birthday Cupcakes

As you can see, I was very excited to get "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World", as a birthday gift..As soon as I lay eyes on the recipe for these cakes, I wanted to make (eat) them..

So, party cupcakes they were..

There was some recipe tweaking of course.

More lime juice, some lime pulp, more coconut cream, and some other little things here and there..

They were D*E*L*I*C*I*O*U*S :D

Carrot, coconut, pineapple & macadamia nut cupcakes

Every good vegan loves "VWaV"..
I really, really want to love it.. I try hard.. and although I like a lot of the recipes in it.. I'm not smitten..
But, there is always at least one exception to any rule..
And for me, these are it..

These cupcakes make me overlook my overall VWaV noncholance, and testify to it's fabulousness..
I swear I would buy the cookbook, just for this recipe :D

Every vegan and non alike, I feed these too.. comes back for another, and another.. and finally the recipe..
My sister-in-law to be, had heard about them, because my brother had been pestering her to make them..
He was in town for a few days, so I made a batch, and gave him a box to take home to share with his finance.

I swear the addition of pineapple, takes these above and beyond..
They are just little parcels of tropical goodness! :D

So make these- and try adding the pineapple chunks..
[Fresh would be nice.. but usually I just use a whole tin of chopped pineapple.. ]
And tell me these aren't some of the best little cupcakes you've eaten :D

La pizza rossa

Oh man- what can I say about this pizza?

Last night before I went to sleep, I was muttering to cucciolo mio, about my plans for adapting the recipe to suit every meal of the day..

"You know.. I could do dessert pizza.. like pizza hut's 'apple pie' pizza.. except not disgusting.. in fact yummy.. with apples.. and cinnamon.. and oh!.."

For me, this was pizza dough nirvana.

Squish the baked pie between your fingers, and it slowly rises back to it's original fluffy shape.

And it was quick to make too. I have been searching for this here recipe, for a long time.

I was intending to use the recipe straight out of Tess Kiros' "Apples for Jam" book, but after starting, saw that it called for much more rising time than I was prepared for..

So.. I winged it..

Tessa was right on, when she said:

The dough must be sticky (this is what gives a nice texture to the cooked pizza), so don't feel you've done something wrong or be tempted to add any more flour.... It takes about five minutes to get the dough unstuck from my hands and find my ring.

Recipe for one large pie

Ingredients

Dough:

1 3/4 cups warm water

10g dry active yeast

1 tsp agave or honey

1 Tbs olive oil

600g (1LB 5oz) flour (I didn't use all of this)

Tomato Topping:

4 Tbs olive oil

1 large garlic clove, pressed and minced

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

3 basil leaves, chopped, or a liberal sprinkling of dried basil

Method:

1.Put the water, yeast, agave, olive oil and 3 fistfuls of the flour in a the bowl of a food processor.

Mix until smooth. Cover and leave for about 15 minutes, or until it has a nice layer of froth on top.

2.Place olive oil & garlic in a medium sized frypan, on medium-high heat, and cook until you begin to smell the garlic. Add the tomatoes and basil, and reduce heat slightly.

3.Add flour, in small portions at a time, mixing well in between. Continue adding flour, until dough gets a good consistency- it should be still super sticky.. Mix for a good 4 minutes.

4.Remove dough, and place in a well greased (olive oil) large bowl, and cover with a cloth. Leave in a warm place to rise (about 20 minutes).

5.With well floured hands, and some flour on hand to add to dough, if too sticky.. Turn out dough onto a lined, pizza baking tray. Squish out, until it meets the edges of the pan, and is uniform in thickness. Leaving a nice width crust, use your fingers to make indentations over the remaining pizza.

6.Pour tomato sauce over pizza dough (saving space for the crust). Place pizza in a pre-heated 200C (350F) oven, for about 15-20 minutes, or until crust is nice and golden brown.

Purple food

This past weekend I went to one of my favourite food stores-

Had some delicious lunch- pumpkin & dahl casserole, with brown rice, and bought some organic goodies.

Among the goodies, were a few purple potatoes. I'd never even heard of them, they didn't look that purple on the outside, still the thought of purple potato was too intriguing to pass up..

What a shock of intense purple, that greeted me, as I cut them in quarters!

They taste quite similar to regular potatoes though.

I simply steamed them, and tossed them with chopped parsley, sea salt & olive oil.

I also picked up some purple cabbage.

My brow chakra must be screaming for attention, me thinks.. all this purple.. and wasn't there that grade school tagline- liking purple meant you were sexually frustrated?? hmmn

I made Tessa's cabbage on sourdough toast recipe, from twelve.

Her recipe calls for the use of numerous different cabbages, I just stuck with the purple one.

You basically infuse a fry pan of evo with rosemary. Add garlic & chilli. Some water. The cabbage. Cook, cook, cook & serve on sourdough slices.

I don't know how something so simple can taste so damn good, but this is the best thing I have eaten in a long time..

The salad is a staple favourite of mine (seasonal)..

I love the contrast in textures and flavours it provides.

Baby spinach, avocado, walnuts, dried cranberries, and olive oil.

Spinach Canneloni

Ahh how frustrating- I just wrote the post, and suddenly, it was gone.
Ahh well. In it, I confessed that I hate measuring. That even when I follow a recipe, there is a lot of eyeballing & guesstimation. And that I'm sorry, if you've made one of my recipes, and what I said was 1/2 cup of water, was actually 2 :D

So this was one of my own inventions.
Where I just put enough ingredients, til it looks, about right..
Last night I had a girls night in, with my mum & grandma. I made spinach & tofu stuffed canneloni, and a mixed green salad, with apples, walnuts & pine nuts.
We ate it, and watched "Johnny Stecchino".

So there's some: tofu, spinach, 'fried' onion & garlic, nutritional yeast, and pepper in there..
All stuffed in pre-cooked canneloni shells, and then smothered in pasta sauce and baked..
YUM :D

Lentil & Bean Stew

My Mum came home today, after four months away.

Not much of a welcome, thick and constant rain and about 17C(62F).

The classic story of- if only you'd have been here yesterday!

We were going to go out to lunch, but her car battery died.. so house bound, I made lentil & bean stew.

She bought me gifts from Papua New Guinea, South Africa, India, Madeira & the U.K!? :)

Recipe Serves 4

Ingredients:

1Tbs olive oil

1/2 onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 carrot, peeled and chopped finely

1/4 red capsicum, chopped finely

12 basil leaves

1 tin organic peeled tomatoes

1 tin organic borlotti beans

1 tin organic cannelini beans

1/2 cup red lentils

1 cup water

Chilli paste

Salt n pepper

Method:

1.After browning the onions with the capsicum and carrot, put all the ingredients in a pot and cook for about 30-40 minutes.

Vegetable Tagine

I love this dish.

I'm so pleased I braved making it the first time -many, many months ago now..

To a certain extent, I generally stick to that which is familiar- cinnamon sticks in cooking, was not..
Still, I persevered, and it was a taste sensation. I made it many times last winter, and intend to do the same this year.

"Vegan with a Vengeance", labels it a spring vegetable tagine, but I think the warming spices and hearty lentils lend it to autumn or winter fare..

Oh, and did I mention it has sultanas in it!? Any savoury dish with sultanas in it, pretty much wins me over. I love when they get all plump & juicy..

So far as the herbs and spices, I pretty much follow VWaV to the letter.

With the vegetables I tend to use, whatever I have on hand- Last night there was broccoli, cabbage, green beans & carrots.

Eggplant in tomato

I remember eating this dish growing up. It's generally served as a side-dish, but we always had it over rice, as a one-plate-meal. Small meatballs done in the same way, were often served for lazy sunday lunches- you could use veganballs.

Last night I had this as a side, with a simple basil pesto pasta. Today, for lunch over rice.

(Yes, I am running out of ingredients and need to go to the store! :D )

For such a simple dish, it is surprisingly tasty!

Feel free to add herbs, I've used basil & oregano at different times.

Recipe for 4 side serves

Ingredients:

2 skinny eggplants, sliced about 1cm (1/4inch) thick

(The 'skinnies' are usually the same length as regular eggplants)

1 clove garlic, minced

2tsp olive oil

1/4tsp chilli paste

1Tbs red wine (optional)

1 tin chopped tomatoes

Salt & pepper to taste

Method:

1.Lay slices of eggplant in a baking dish evenly.

2.In a bowl combine tomatoes, chilli paste and garlic, mix well.

3.Pour bowls contents over eggplant.

4.Drizzle wine & olive oil over the top.

5.Bake in a pre-heated 200C(350F) oven for about 20minutes.

6.Give everything a good stir, and return to oven for about 10 more minutes.

Where's the hole donuts!?

Tempted by Vegan Yum Yum's delicious looking mini-donuts, I decided to make my own.

I don't have a cute lil donut baking pan like her, so I went with this weird flying saucer like, pan I have- no holes.

One of my favourite donuts, was always the classic cinnamon- especially hot from the fryer.. oh yeah!

It has been many years since I've had one of those.

I used unbleached spelt flour, instead of regular flour- I am really liking the spelt!

Canola oil instead of margarine- reduced by 1Tbs.

For the topping I simply put 4Tbs of raw granulated sugar in a food processor, with 1tsp of cinnamon. Then, hot from the oven, dunked my little discs in the mixture..

Yum! These, like the 'real' thing, are very addictive..

Lentil & Carrot Penne

I made up this recipe the other night, because I had a hankering for lentils.

I wasn't sure what I was going to serve them with, ultimately I went for penne.

I later discovered, the sauce makes for a much more tasty, stand-alone soup.

Recipe for 2 serves of pasta + 1 soup OR 2 serves of soup

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dry red lentils

2Tbs olive oil

1/4 green capsicum, chopped finely

1/2 onion, chopped finely

2 small carrots, grated

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 cup water

8 basil leaves, chopped roughly

1 cup stewed tomatoes (I use organic tinned)

3Tbs tomato paste

Salt & pepper to taste

Method:

1.Saute onion & capsicum with oil, in medium saucepan, on medium heat. Cook until golden.

2.Add carrots & garlic, and cook until fragrant, but not browned.

3.Add lentils, and stir well to coat. Add remaining ingredients, seasoning to taste.

4.Put lid on saucepan, reducing heat slightly, and allow to cook until lentils are tender- about 20 minutes.

5.Give small whizz with blender-stick-thinga-ma-jigga, retaining some of the chunk.

6.Serve as soup or over pasta- I say soup is best!

General Tso's Vegetables

I have a new lazy dish. For those days when you're already hungry, and you haven't even thought about cooking yet.. The recipe's sauce qoutient is definitely for 4 serves though!-

Use it with veggies for 2, at your peril.. Your veggies will be swamped in chilli goodness :)

It was a gorgeous, sunny 27C(80F) yesterday, so I took my lunch outside..

Sweet Potato & Mushroom Curry Puffs

This is another recipe from my friend Amanda. I remember she made it with her sister, when I was 16. At that stage, my veggo repetoire basically only covered stir-fries, so I was well impressed.

We ate these, curled up on the couch watching "Northern Exposure". Almost falling into swoon induced comas, from watching Chris.

Rain usually makes me feel mellow: curl up in a corner time, slow down, smell the furniture. Today... it just makes me feel wet. What is it about owning things? Why do we feel the need to own what we love, and why do we become such jerks when we do? We've all been there, you know: we want something; we own it; and by owning it we change it. When you finally win that girl of your dreams, the first thing you do is try to change her. That little thing she does with her hair, the way she wears her clothes, the way she chews her gum. Until eventually, what you like, what you don't like and what you change all merges into one. Like a watercolor in the rain.

-Chris Stevens

This is also great as a simple curry over rice.

Recipe serves 2

Ingredients:

1Tbs oil

1/2 onion, chopped finely

1/2 sweet potato, diced

3 large button mushrooms, sliced

Curry to taste (I use about 2 tsps)

1/4 cup lite coconut cream

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (thawed)

Method:

1.Saute onion in oil, in a large frypan on medium heat. Cook until golden.

2.Add sweet potato & mushrooms, stirring to coat.

3.Add curry, stirring well, before mixing through coconut cream.

4.Cover pan, and leave to cook, until potato is tender (about 10 to 15 minutes). You may need to add some more coconut cream, if mixture is a bit dry, or sticking to pan.

5.Cut pastry in 1/2, and spoon mixture on each piece. Cover 1/2 the pieces, leaving the edges uncovered. Fold over uncovered pastry halves, to cover mixture, and press down edges with a fork to seal.

6.Cut a few slits in the top of the pastry. And bake in a preheated 180C(350F) oven, until pastry is golden- about 15 minutes.

Ribollita

Although the weather still isn't that cold, I'm in autumn mode.

The ocean is still a luscious 23C(74F), so really I should be surfing.. except, I feel like curling up under the doona and watching DVDs instead.

We got: "Art school confidential", "The departed", "Little miss sunshine", and another one I can't remember the name of.

I feel like eating lentils and rice at the moment.. warm, hearty & satisfying food.

So I made my own version of Tessa Kyro's- ribollita (from "Twelve"), and served it over basmati rice.

Perfect.

Recipe for about 4

Ingredients:

2Tbs olive oil

1/2 large red onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed and minced

1 carrot, finely grated

1/4 small green cabbage, coarsely chopped

1 can (10 1/2 oz) cannellini beans, drained

1Tbs tomato paste

1/2 stewed diced tomatoes (I use tinned organic)

1tsp chilli paste (fuoco d'amore)

water to cover

Salt & pepper to taste

2 slices stale bread

Method:

1.In a medium-large saucepan, saute onion in olive oil, on medium heat, until golden.

2.Add garlic and carrots, and cook until fragrant, but not browned.

3.Add remaining ingredients, except for bread. Fill the pot with water, to cover ingredients.

4.Lid pot, and turn down heat slightly, leave to cook for about 20 minutes.

5.Depending on the size of your cabbage pieces, they should be almost tender by now.

Remove lid, and return heat to medium. Cook until cabbage is tender.

6.You may have to add a little water, if it has mostly been absorbed already.

7.Add bread, and allow to absorb water and become soggy. Whiz briefly with a hand-held mixer, being sure to get the bread. It's nice if you can leave some beans and cabbage whole though.

8.Serve plain or over rice.

Choc Chunk Cookies

The store was out of cucciolo mio's favourite 'fresh' cookies.
Last night he was craving a sweet hit, so I offered to make something his style, from scratch.
When I mentioned Betty Crocker white-chocolate-chunk-macadamia-cookies, he said yes please.


I got the cookbook as a wedding gift from his great-aunt, and while I have a soft spot for Betty, she's just not my style. But last night, I sought her out.
I followed the recipe faithfully- with organic butter and vegetarian fed, free range eggs..
But I drew the line with the sugar, and reduced the called for amount, so there was an equal flour sugar ratio (I mean comeon', more sugar than flour!!?)

As they were baking I thought I would probably like a rice milk dunking buddy too-
So I made dark-chocolate-chunk-cookies, based on the recipe from 'Sinfully Vegan'.
They weren't amazing, but they were SO quick & easy.


Sadly & peculiarly, cucciolo mio only had one cookie.. saying they were ok, but nothing great..


Me: You mean not sweet enough?
Cm: I don't know.. just bland
Me: Okay, but if they had more sweetness they'd be better?
Cm: I don't know.. probably.. they just taste flour-y..bland


Recipe makes about 1 dozen
Ingredients:
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup maple syrup (overflowing cup!)
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
2/3 cup dark choc chips
2 1/2 cups spelt flour


Method:
1.Pre-heat oven to 180C(350F).
2.Place canola oil, maple syrup, vanilla essence and choc chips in a mixing bowl, and stir to combine well.
3.Slowly add the flour, and mix well.
4.Drop spoonfuls of mixture, on a lined baking tray, and press to flatten.
5.Bake for about 10 minutes, or until just browned on their bottoms.

Sweet Potato Fries

I love sweet potato. It's so versatile. I love it cooked every which way.
I've made oven baked sweet potato fries before, and while yummy, they didn't quite do it for me.
I decided to try again, this time, frying the chips for a couple of minutes, with oil & sea salt.
Delicious!!

Recipe for about 2 serves
Ingredients:
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into fries
Olive oil spray
2tsp olive oil
Sprinkle coarse sea salt

Method:
1.Place chips on a lined baking tray. Spread out evenly, and spray with a fine mist of olive oil.
2.Place, covered, in a pre-heated 180C(350F) oven.
3.Bake for about 40 minutes, or until tender.
4.Heat 2tsp of olive oil in a large frypan on medium heat. Add salt, and chips, and cook until the chips glisten, and start to get nice brown crispy bits on them.

Apple, Walnut & Sultana Loaf

I am in love with Tessa Kiros.. well her books.

They are not simply recipe books- scientific equations for food production.

They are a treatise on life..

I wanted to make a fruity not too sweet, almost breadish cake, so I turned to her book "Apples for Jam" for inspiration.

The following, is an adaptation of her recipe "Apple Bread with Sugar & Cinnamon Topping".

This is what she writes about it:

I love the name apple bread- it carries me off in my fantasy to some very green hills with chunky plates and jugs of fresh cream, with rosy cheeked children skipping about here and there. It is perfect for snacks, breakfast, with a meal or as a meal with a few chunks of cheese...

This cake is moorish. Although I did share it with cucciolo mio & a few friends, it is already gone, with not even a crumb remaining.

Cucciolo mio had 2 slices (still warm) last night, with a smear of organic butter, and a mug of milk. Mmmn, comfort food.

Recipe
Ingredients:

1 cup red wine (I used leftovers from my pasta & Andrea Bocelli night)

1/2 cup sultanas

1 red apple, peeled & cored

1/2 vanilla pod, split open (or dash of vanilla essence)

1 cinnamon stick (or 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder)

2 Tbs raw granulated sugar

1/2 cup raw granulated sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup wholemeal flour, sifted

1tsp bicarb soda

1tsp baking powder

1tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup apples, peeled, cored & coarsely grated

Used vanilla bean insides

1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped

Method:

1.Place red wine, sultanas, apple, vanilla pods, cinnamon & 2 Tbs sugar in a saucepan on medium-high heat, and bring to boil. Cook on a gentle boil, until apple is tender, but not mooshy.

2.Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Prepare a loaf pan.

3.In a large bowl, beat together oil and 1/2 cup sugar. Mash cooked apple, and add to bowl, beating well.

4.Sift the flour, bicarb soda, baking powder & cinnamon in. Stir with a spatula or wooden spoon, well.

5.Pour wine & sultana mixture through a strainer, into a container. (The wine is yummy on fruit as a syrup, or just drunk as a mulled wine)

6.Stir in grated apples, walnuts & sultanas to bowl.

7.Take vanilla pod from wine pot, and scrape out the inside seeds into the bowl (or add vanilla essence). Stir well.

8.Spoon mixture into loaf pan, and back for about 45 minutes. Check after 30 minutes.

If the top starts to brown before it's done, cover with foil.

9.Turn out onto cooling racks- but DO eat a slice while still warm..

Penne with Tomato & Basil

I had the house to myself tonight.

I don't know why that makes dinner feel so different, but it does.

I recently bought a basil plant, and it's succulent & sweet smelling leaves, have been calling me.

So tonight, I decided on a simple pairing- tomato & basil.

I used some canned tomatoes- last years harvest from my Dad's farm.

I poured myself a glass of delicious wine, from said farm, and put on Andrea Bocelli (loud).

Recipe (for 2)

Ingredients:

1 Tbs olive oil

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic

10 or so basil leaves

1 cup passata

1 cup stewed roma tomatoes, chopped (canned is fine)

1/2tsp fuoco d'amore or chilli sauce

1 Tbs red wine

Salt & pepper to taste

1 Tbs pine nuts

1 Tbs bread crumbs

2 basil leaves, chopped

Method:

1.Heat oil in frypan, on medium heat.

Add onion, and cook til golden. Add garlic, cooking until softened.

2.Add remaining ingredients.

3.Cook pasta as per directions.

4.Place pine nuts, bread crumbs and basil leaves on a tray, under the grill (broiler) until golden.

Pour into a motar and pestle, and beat around until evenly textured.

5.When the pasta is about ready, add pine nut mixture to sugho(pasta sauce). Turn off heat.

6.Drain pasta.

Add to frypan, and stir sugho through well.

General Tso's Vegetables & Basmati Rice

After reading about no impact man, in the New York Times, I have been thinking of ways to further lessen my environmental impact, in regard to food.

I decided buying in bulk from the co-op (so I can use my own containers), is a good start..

As well as habitually(I've been sporadic at best) frequenting, my local organic farmers market.

All this takes some planning though, and so, until then, I'm foraging through what's left in my pantry and fridge-

And so, again last night I had General Tso's veggies TA-DA!

Cucciolo mio had home-made pizza instead, but after having a bite of mine, said he would have rathered it - wow, veggies over pizza!?

Chickpea and Green Bean, Tomato Stew

I have no idea of the origins of this dish- neither literally, or ethnically..
It came to me from my dear friend M, she bought it along to a potluck picnic once.
I've been making it ever since. It's a nice, reliable 30 minute meal (who doesn't love 30 minute meals!?)..
The secret ingredient, which really transforms the whole dish- is white vinegar:
Don't ask me, in this case, I just follow the instructions.

Recipe
Ingredients:
1-2Tbs olive oil

1/2 onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
2tsp cumin seeds
1/2tsp asafoetida
1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes (I used tinned organic)
2Tbs tomato paste
2Tbs water
1 can(400g) chickpeas, drained
2 handfuls green beans (or snake beans) split, and halved
4 small dried bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
1-2Tbs white vinegar

Basmati rice

Method:

1.Add oil and onion to frypan on medium heat. When softened, add garlic, cumin & asafoetida, and saute until onion is browned.

2.Add all remaining ingredients, except vinegar, and stir well to combine. Cover, and turn down heat just a little.

3.Boil water for rice, and cook per instructions.

4.By the time your rice is cooked, and drained, the green beans should be tender.

Add vinegar, and stir in well. Cook for 1 or 2 more minutes.

5.Serve, with rice.

St Pats Naked Irish Oatmeal Cupcakes

If you squint your eyes, and look really, really carefully, you can see I'm Irish..
Some of my great(etc+) grandparents came to Australia from Ireland, 211 years ago.
There could also be green blood, a wee bit closer, somewhere in there, but that's not yet known..
My husband says he's Irish American- so far it seems to me, we're probably similarly nano-decimal-Irish.. but then, he does have a cool Irish name.



When we were in Portland, OR, last october, I had many delicious slices of Irish Oatmeal cake (vegan), from New Seasons [truly the friendliest store around!]..
It came close to being my favourite cake -ever..
So, being St Pats day and all, I decided to try to make my own version.

I found this recipe, and veganised it, subbing:
1/2 canola oil for the butter (oops, it should have been 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup granulated evaporated cane juice - instead of white sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup - instead of brown sugar
2Tbs ground flax seed, mixed with 2Tbs water - instead of 2 eggs
1 1/3 wholemeal flour - instead of white

I also added:
1/2 cup of applesauce, along with the oil
1/2tsp baking soda, along with the baking powder
Omitted the salt
1/2 cup rolled oats, just before spooning into liners

I didn't make the topping, because I was unsure of a condensed milk sub, and anyway, I was planning on doing a vanilla buttercream frosting..
Which I tried, but it was just too rich and sweet for my liking.
So, naked they stayed.

While these were yummy, they didn't touch on the bring-you-to-your-knees-delicious-ness of the Portland cake.
Gotta keep on trying :)