Confetti salad from leftovers

It was just the right thing to use up some stuff from the fridge before heading out on holiday.
1/4 red cabbage sliced
1/2 large carrot grated
1 radish chopped
1/3 cucumber chopped
1/4 red pepper (capsicum) chopped
1 handful raisins
1 handful sunflower seeds
A squirt of lemon juice
1 Orange peeled & roughly chopped
Generous splash of raspberry vinegar

Pulse in the food processor a few times

Sprinkle half can of chickpeas on top

Garnish with mustard microgreens (yum from Thames Saturday market stall)

What a fabulous lunch! It was pretty, wonderful mix of textures & awesome flavour.

Eating out in Auckland - soup shots!

Eating out in Auckland

spontaneous trip to auckland tonight & ate at “The Vue” on the top of the Mercure on Custom St East. 

Sometimes you have to be a bit creative when eating out vegan style. 

One of the entrees I thought was dips and bread and was informed it was soups and bread. It was so cute I took a picture - 3 little soups in shot glasses and some artisan bread. The soups were red Thai pumpkin, Mushroom & Thyme and Pea with pancetta. When I mentioned I was vegan they served the pea soup without the panchetta. They were all lovely but the pumpkin was the best yum.

Only one vegetarian and no vegan mains so I opted for 3 sides instead - Cumin roasted kumara, minted peas & a garden salad. 

I’m writing this back in my room feeling delightfully replete and virtuous. 

Eggless Salad

Technically the recipe is called Tofu "egg" salad but this is the Vegan month of food so I want to emphasise the lack of egg in the title. It comes from the happyherbivore.com

In our local organic shop I saw some Himalayan Black salt & grabbed it as I remembered I had recipes requiring this - it has a slightly sulphurous taste.

12 ounces extra-firm tofu - I had some leftover silken tofu
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 whole celery stalks, minced
1¼ tbsp nutritional yeast
1½ tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp relish (dill pickle) - I used some locally sourced Kiwifruit & ginger chutney
½ tsp turmeric
¼ tsp mild curry powder
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp onion powder
½ tsp black salt
2 tbsp vegan mayo (fat-free) see recipe below

Crumble tofu into a large mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients and stir until well combined. Let set for a few minutes (this allows the flavor to merge but also enhances the yellow coloring). Stir again. Taste, adjusting spices as necessary. Add black pepper to taste and serve.

I am glad I halved this - it was so divine I had the lot! - Made a sandwich with wholegrain bread, cos lettuce & tomato, then used the rest in a toasted pita bread. followed this with an orange and a drink of apple tea. 

I used the mayo recipe from my copy of The Happy Herbivore Cookbook - here it is
1/2 package silken tofu
1 Tbs dijon mustard
1 tsp white wine vinegar
lemon juice & agave nectar to taste.
combine in blender/food processor until smooth.

ok now I have some more silken tofu in the fridge to use up since I made the Mayo! 

Down under here in NZ spring has begun so the rest of the mayo will be used in some yummy salads mmm!

Kumara-Pear Tzimmes with Pecans & Raisins

1 kg Kumara peeled & cut into 3/4 inch chunks ( I added in some pumpkin too)
3 firm pears seeded & cut into 3/4 inch chunks
1 tbs vegetable oil
2 tbs Mirin (or other sweet cooking wine)
1 tbs maple syrup
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup pecan halves
3/4 cup golden raisins

Preheat oven to 180 C
Place kumara & pears in a large roasting dish. sprinkle with oil & miring and mix to make sure all is coated.
Add maple syrum, cinnamon, slat & pecans and toss to coat.

Cover with aluminium foil & bake for 30 minutes.

Remove foil & add raisins & gently toss.

Return to oven uncovered & bake for 30 more minutes tossing occasionally.

It took more than an hour to cook - probably needed to be in a single layer in a larger dish.

Said to serve 6 - would probably serve 8.

Awesome mix of flavours & colour & textures!

Spinach noodle Kugel (Casserole)

3 cups pasta (I used some vegeroni spirals - recipe suggests any short cut ribbon noodles or broken up lasagne noodles

3 packages of frozen spinach, thawed
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs (Matzo meal if you want a genuinely Jewish dish)
1 small onion finely chopped
340 g (just over 1 package) of firm silken tofu
1 cup vege broth
2 tbs olive oil (to make it oil free I just added extra tofu)
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill ( had to resort to a couple of tsp of dried dill)
2 tbs lemon juice
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Cook noodles according to package direction & preheat oven to 180 C
Place thawed spinach in colander and leave in the sink to drain.
Blend tofu, broth & oil (if using) until smooth and put in large mixing bowl with the breadcrumbs.
Squeeze as much water as possible out of the spinach and add to the bowl.
Drain pasta & run under cold water, add to the bowl along with the rest of the ingredients.
Mix well, use your hands if needed.
Coat a casserole dish with oil spray
Press the kugel into the casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes.

This was a large recipe supposed to serve 8. I halved it  - the four of us had plenty and there were leftovers the next day.

Would like to try it with wholemeal pasta but that is proving difficult to find - can only source in penne or macaroni shapes at the moment

Birthday Dinner

My Mum turned 83 last week and I turned to "Veganomicon"by Isa Moskowitz & Terry Romero for inspiration.

Spinach Noodle Kugel & Sweet Potato Tzimmes were what I opted for - the pale spinach noodle casserole along side the brilliant orange of the Tzimmes alongside some simple green peas looked wonderful on the plate.

The delicate and subtle flavours of the Spinach dish alongside the bursts of flavour & crunch of the Tzimmes just awesome!

My elderly parents and brother (all non-vegan) absolutely loved it!

The recipes follow in the next posts.