VeganMofo 2013: Post 19-Mac and Cheeze Monday–the Mac Daddy of the Mac and Cheezes

This is the fourth Monday we’ve had Mac and Cheeze.  I decided to go back and try something that I should have tried a long LONG time ago: the Veganomicon “Mac Daddy”.  This is a pretty damn healthy recipe – about 3T olive oil is all the fat in it (tofu has no fat, right?). 

It does use at least 4 containers though (two saucepans, whatever vessel you use for the tofu – I was lazy and used the food processor, and the final baking dish), as opposed to my normal mac and cheeze which uses a single saucepan.

My verdict?  Pretty freaking good.  The extra tofu makes me feel less guilty about eating pasta (the protein factor) and it’s got a lot less fat too.

Cam’s favourite of the month is still the mac and cheeze in the MacShroom.  But he isn’t the one who generally cooks pasta, so we know who's favourite’s going to end up being cooked more

The ugly photo (ugly because you can’t take good photos of mac and cheeze!!!):

Cam’s off for the next few days, so I’ve requested stuff from Vegan Sandwiches Save The Day.  Best find (in my bookshelf) of the mofo in my opinion!

Mmmm Caesar Salad….

So yeah, summer’s over!  Where did my holidays go?
It’s been lovely keeping up with everyone’s blogs.  I think the Australian vegan blogging world is waiting with baited breath for Theresa and Andy’s nuptials (or is it just me?)!
Anyhoooo, uni is back and I’m crazy busy as always.  I’m going to try to do short blogs, rather than long exciting ones this semester.  Four law subjects + 3 days a week of work = Amy gets no sleep!
So, Cam decided that we needed a garden (and I agreed), so we got some mini hothouses from Bunnings (‘cause we have very active possums!).
Checkout the awesome cos lettuce – isn’t this stuff meant NOT to grow so vertically?

So I made Veganomicon Caesar Salad with Fry’s Chickeny Strips (I have no recollection of the name and I’m not linking to their uber annoying flash website!) and Redwood fake bacon.  Damn this was tasty!
Hopefully it won’t be another three months before I post again!
Amy

Hey ya!

Hey guys.  Long time, no blog.  Uni, work, you know the drill…..
Anyway, I was inspired by a recent South Park episode to make Tofu “fish” Fingers (I believe you call them Fish Sticks in the US).  Recipe came from the Vegan Lunchbox cookbook (finally bought it!).  Pretty tasty!


I’ll resist the urge to make a gay vegan fish joke.

I discovered chipotles at the Indian grocer the other week (month?) and so I made tamales (using aluminium foil instead of corn husks).  Not bad….  They’re really dense!!!
And, of course, I’ve been sewing….


Exams are coming up, so I’ve been attempting to start study (they start on June 15, so hopefully I can cram it all in – for some unknown reason they’re ALL open book!!).
VeganAmy out.

VeganMoFo - catchup!

EAR would like to welcome his new little nameless friend.  Anyone got any suggestions?  I think she's the cutest one I've made yet (I have a crab in pieces, but reading case law seems a little more important right now!).
But here's more exciting stuff.... Food!!!

Mmmmmmmmm gargantuan sandwich.........

Bittersweet's Pizza Scrolls with VCON cashew ricotta.  Yummo!

BTLT (Bacon Tofu, Lettuce and Tomato).  Can you tell EAR wants to run away with it?

EAR and the new toy are fighting over who gets to be in the picture! Tee hee.....
Hey guys,
I have exams in two weeks, so this is going to be my last post for a while.  Cam, on the other hand has already finished exams (grrrrr) so I'm handing over to him.  So here's my final catchup before my last exam in November!!!
Amy out.....

VeganMoFo a go go!!!!

Right.  Now that I've got that out of my system, I'd like to introduce you to this month's VeganMoFo mascot, Steve's friend, the evil acrylic rabbit:

Actually, he was meant to be a hamster for Cam, but I'm not very good at the knitting yet!  Isn't it kinda cool how he looks evil and demented at the same time?  So rad......
So evil acrylic rabbit (EAR - ha it's funny because the ears are the worst part), what did I eat last night?
 
YMCA (which stands for Yesterday's Meal Cooked Again - my family has a penchant for stupid nicknames for things) Leek and Bean Cassoulet from Veganomicon.  I'm SO going to miss leeks over summer!  One thing, I always put mushrooms in this (they explode with tasty juice when you eat them), but I always wish I put more in. I could seriously live off mushrooms.
And for lunch?

We've discovered that the Trident brand Hot and Spicy Thai soup is vegan!  So I fried up some soy nuggets for extra tasty goodness (warning: you'll need a tissue for hours after eating this!).  Add extra coriander for a burst of fresh flavour!
Veganomicon is one of those cookbooks that I keep coming back to.  I tend to make the same recipes over and over (I'm tempted to go back and count how many times I've posted this meal!).  Cam's more of an explorer when it comes to food.  I like the comfort of knowing dinner's going to be amazingly tasty (last week I tried a new recipe and it turned out very badly - I was heartbroken after three hours cooking).  Hopefully I can kick my arse into trying new recipes this month.
I'm going to try and make brinner (breakfast for dinner) one day this month (it will have to be a weekend day).  I'm definitely going to try Celine's Seitan Bacon for that one!
One day down, 30 to go!!!!

Tofu madness

Veganomicon Asian Marinated Tofu with a baby spinach salad.  You can't see the beautiful glaze in this photo but drool..............................................

Cam made this a while ago - it's fried tofu with a Malaysian Curry sauce.  This was a tasty (and speedy) dinner.  Yummers.
Isn't it nice to have a partner who can cook? :) 

Soup or stew (or dip)?

I've often wondered to myself whether Cam's lentil soup is actually a soup or a stew. For that matter, what is the difference between soup and stew? When it's this tasty, does it really matter?

I bring this question up because Cam's in the middle of writing us some software to write down recipes (so we can post them on the site!), and he's changed the name of his Lentil Soup to Bean and Vegetable stew. I object. But seeing as I can put it on crackers (above is actually torn up pieces of Mountain Bread baked in the oven topped with the previous night's soup), is it a fancy-schmancy dip?

Anyways, despite the introspection, it was really tasty (as evidenced below - can you tell I'm missing academic writing?)....


On the fake meat front we have these 'chicken' kebabs. They're basically the fake chicken nuggets from the chinese supermarket baked in the oven (we're avoiding frying like the plague) on kebab bread spread with hummous, and topped with lettuce, tabbouleh, tomatoes, mushroom, the chopped nuggets and topped with vegan mayonnaise. Cam surprised me with this for dinner after an awful day at work. Jealous?


One of the joys of winter is leeks. They're not available all year round - so they're extra special when we can get them! I've made this Leek and Bean Cassoulet from Veganomicon many times (I think I've posted pics at least once before). It's ridiculously good. I always add mushrooms just before it goes into the oven. I love how they explode in your mouth when eating. Drool!!!!


Last, but certainly not least (really? I had to go there? How cliched is that!!!) we found WHITE CHOCOLATE!!!!!
This is one of the vegan holy grails (if we were religiously inclined) apart from cheese that melts (thanks Teese, it's really not a tease at all seeing pictures of your cheese all over the PPK!!). We've found this at two Coles supermarkets in Brisbane thus far (Sunnybank and Redcliffe), so it's not that hard to find!!! You really must try it!


I'm hoping that Cam will have the recipe application done soon, we've got at least ten recipes that we can post (in pdf) so you don't have to read my rambling!

Food and a rant

Or should I say a rant and food pics? I'll get to approximately three weeks worth of food porn momentarily but first a word from our sponsor.

Feminism. Is it really a scary word? Despite the new cultural angst over the idea of feminism, I identify myself as a feminist. The problem? I'm doing a first-year law course (I would name it, but to save myself the heartache....) with basically the intent to persuade the students of their responsibilities to act morally and their duty to help others in society. This is a very "leftie" agenda. I, as one who celebrated Kevin Rudd's victory with a smashing hangover, think this is a great idea (as do many of the students, conservative or not!). However.....
This week's topic was "Gender and Race" - basically an analysis of access to justice/legal assistance from the perspective of women and non-white people. I was surprised to find that I was the only person (other than our awesome female tutor) that identified themselves as a feminist (most of my class is under the age of 20). They didn't seem to think that feminism was really required anymore. One fellow classmember actually listed the reason that they didn't identify as a feminist was that "the boys laugh at feminists. They think they're dikey lesbians". !!!!!! Notwithstanding the utter disparity in this statement, I want to say a few things....
We need feminism for everyone. Feminists don't hate men! They want equality for everyone! This means equality in pay and treatment. We're not going to get change unless we push for it.
I know I'm not the most articulate when I'm angry, so here's a video that you must watch (thanks to my favourite feminist website Feministing for the link):


And now, as advertised, food!

I think this may have come from Vegan Fire and Spice? Sorry Cam, I remember it was tasty though! I call it "Cam's chickpea dish with mashed potatoes and hummus". I do remember that I put nooch and smoked paprika in the potatoes!

Moroccan Chickpea and Lentil Soup. This did come from Vegan Fire and Spice. Yummers.

An awesome photo of my Dad slicing Veggie Roast with his fancy knife. I heart this knife. Check out the wafer thinless of the slices.

Cam's been making lots of Indian curries (as always they're awesome). So here's a small selection (there's a bit of a theme here!):

Chilli Potatoes (These burn for me, but gosh (did I just say gosh? When did I turn into a polite person?) they're tasteeeeeee!)

Chilli Potatoes with Spinach and Chickpea Curry (Also delectable)

Chilli Potatoes with Mushroom and Pea Curry (Cam said that he'll have a recipe for the Mushroom and Pea curry soon!)

Leeks are finally available in Brisbane!!!! I've been waiting for Leeks to become affordable since getting Veganomicon.

Firstly, a Leek and Potato soup from La Dolce Vegan (it has carrots in it, thus the orangey goodness):

THE Leek and Bean Cassoulet from Veganomicon. So. Damn. Good.

And onto my particular favourites, the non-savoury things!

Choc-chip Blondies with Rasperries from Vegan With a Vengeance!

Fancy Mushroom and Red Wine Scrolly Bread. It was a bit tough, but still AWESOME.

Ginger Pear Muffins (overripe pears equals incredibly smooth batter equals yummy goodness):

I attempted some apple scrolls based on Bittersweet's Pizza Scroll recipe. They just weren't sweet enough (more sugar is required in the dough!):

Finally, I'd had a crap morning at work and raced home for lunch before uni in the afternoon.... Someone was nice enough to leave me the last of the "middle" of the bread (I hate the end/crusty bits)! So I had the ultimate in convenience snacks: The (vegan) luncheon sandwich.

Thinly sliced Sanitarium Lunchon is sandwiched between two slices of High Fibre White Bread from Baker's Delight. Spread with Nuttelex, this sandwich will fill the needs of vegans on the run....

Yeasty goodness!

No, not beer - bread! After my success last weekend with the Cinnamon, Sultana & Craisin Bread, I made two savoury bready thingys.

Firstly, Calzones. The recipe is "Zucchini and Tofu Calzones" from Vegan Vittles. I added Mushrooms as well (and a bit of olive oil to the pizza dough for ease of manipulation). I served it with VWAV Pizza Sauce.




And secondly, and completely awesomely, Bittersweet's Pizza Rolls! OMG. Seriously. The. Yummiest. Thing. I've. Ever. Made. The variation is from the VEST article (V'con Cashew Ricotta and Lachesis' Seitan O' Greatness).



Up close (and yummy):




I actually made these scrolls twice today. I have to run, otherwise Cam will eat them all!

Catching up on tastiness!

So here's what we've been eating of late!
Leftover stuff from my birthday party:
Malaysian Curry and Spanakopita (I froze a lot of leftovers – I only put out a half batch – they are a really good and easy snack!)


I made a double batch of the Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse for cupcake filling. It was awesome!


I found a donut maker for $18 the week before my birthday. I used the recipe from VeganYumYum to make mini donuts!


And here they are topped with chocolate:



Money shot...


I got around to trying the Tamari Roasted Chickpeas from Eat Drink and Be Vegan. We've made them about three times in salad!

Yummy Italian Bread that we had with salad one night.



Leda makes Mintons. They're super yummo!


Money shot...


I made another batch of chilli. I put a million veggies in this one!

Finally, I made tofu BLTs. "Bacon" recipe is the Tempeh Bacon recipe from VWAV modified to use tofu. I also used the Cashew Ricotta from Veganomicon as a spread. Drool!