Sparkled GInger Cookies (VWAV)

We had friends over for dinner last night (we made Fresh Spring Rolls & Malaysian Curry, but I won't bore you with more pictures of their deliciousness) & I whipped these cookies up about 10 mins before everyone arrived. I ran out of ground cloves, so I ground some myself in the mortar & pestle.... Extra spicy goodness!!!!

Four Year Anniversary Breakfast

It was our four year anniversary on Tuesday, so we went to see Irish comic Dylan Moran (I cried from laughing so much that I skulled 1 litre of water upon our return). For dinner that night we had leftover Pad Thai, but the next morning we cooked up a storm!!!

Tofu bacon w. hash browns & waffles:



And I insisted that we have waffles & ice-cream for dessert (at 10am):



Here's the pattern of the waffles all on their own - I think they're pretty:



And we enjoyed this breakfast whilst watching three episodes of Arrested Development (yes, we're behind the times, but we're in Australia - surely that's an excuse?).... ;)

Pad Thai

I've been doing a fair bit of 'new' cooking lately, but no blogging (I've been catching up on the PPK forums)....

Anyway, here's our (Cam & I cooked it together) attempt at Isa's Pad Thai in Vegan With A Vengeance:



It was soooooo good!!!! Try it!!! 

Black Eyed Bean & Mushroom Stroganoff

I'm a wee bit obsessed with this recipe at the moment (I believe I've cooked it three times in as many weeks. The recipe is on page 136 of Sarah Kramer's La Dolce Vegan!
I substituted the mock meat with Black Eyed Beans (that I put on to soak last night). It was tasty (I love the sauce, I believe I could drink it) but I think that next time I'll mash the beans a bit before I add it to the sauce (I added the beans in after the mushrooms & onions were browned). The beans didn't really soak up any of the sauce.

Still yummy though.

And now, for the newest, geekiest section of this blog, I'm going to start referencing the recipes (when from cookbooks) in MLA style. I'm trying to get the reference style into my head for my thesis, so this is good practice!!!

Referencing the whole book:

Kramer, Sarah. La Dolce Vegan! Vegan Livin' Made Easy. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp, 2005.

Referencing the recipe:

Kramer, Sarah. "Phebe's Mushroom Stroganoff." La Dolce Vegan! Vegan Livin' Made Easy. Ed. Sarah Kramer. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp, 2005.

I can't get Blogger to indent the second line - darnit.... Anyway, enjoy!!!

Fresh Spring Rolls

These have to be one of my favourite dinners for in front of the TV (they're interactive!).

Ingredients: 

Package of Rice Wrappers
Marinated Tofu (I'm lazy & use a pack of marinated tofu, but you can marinade your own. Spicy Thai is good & also a mellow Chinese "honey" soy is good too)
Vermicelli (you won't need a whole pack - get the ones that have a few servings & use one)
Various veggies (I usually use carrot, cucumber, 'shrooms)
Herbs (mint & coriander is my fave)
Hoisin (vegan)
Sweet Chilli Sauce
Garlic

Steps:

Cut up the veggies & grill the tofu (my mum got me a health grill a few years ago & it is the best for making low-fat crunchy tofu). Slice the tofu up into sticks - 1cm x 4 or 5cm.
Arrange attractively (or stick it in a big pile!):

Make a dipping sauce with the hoisin, sweet chilli & garlic. I usually get a heaping teaspoon (or two) of minced garlic, cover it with sweet chilli sauce & add hoisin until I'm happy with the colour (it needs to be fairly dark):

"Cook" the vermicelli according to directions (I normally put in a heat proof bowl & add boiling water until I'm happy with the level of 'cookedness').....

Boil another kettle of water & add to the biggest bowl you have in the house (I have a monstrous pasta bowl). Dip the rice wrappers in the hot water (careful, it's hot!) & drip for a few seconds to remove excess water (otherwise they'll be soggy & unmanageable). Arrange your ingredients on the wrapper (I like putting the sauce in the middle of the roll - usually on the noodles - so much easier than dipping & re-dipping - and less messy!!).

Here's the results - I was too hungry to take a wrapped pic, but you get the idea!!!


Enjoy!!!

Dinner - as made by my Ma

We had dinner @ Mum & Dad's on Sunday night. Mum made fritters (which were a favourite of mine when I was a kid, but I haven't had them since I became vegan)...... Yummy (carbs & fat).......
Here's the mix:


If I remember correctly, Mum said it was a cup of flour, 3 tsp of Baking Powder, 2 serves egg replacer & soy milk to make a runny mix. Then add veggies. She added red onion, grated carrots, grated zucchini and corn (that she microwaved and de-cobbed). She fried them with canola oil (you do it like pancakes - wait for the bubbles and then flip) & served them with a tomato relish (I didn't get a photo).....

Here's the tasty results (Mum said that there were too many, but there were none left after Cam & I had finished with them!!!):


Appetizer was some spicy pumpkin soup:


For dessert Cam & I took over the trusty pie maker & had simple apple pies (Canola based puff pastry, can of baking apple, cinnamon sugar). Even though you can only see the outside, I assure you they were the bomb....


Peace out - enjoy the veggie freedom!!!!

One last thing

Does anyone in Australia make their own seitan??

I'd love to know what brand of flour you use - we don't have Vital Wheat Gluten anywhere in Brisbane......

Thanks...