Cauliflower and Lemon Couscous

This is a great, easy, light meal and serves about two, generously.

Pre-heat oven to 425F.

1 head of cauliflower, cut into small florets/chunks
juice from 1 lemon
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
2 tbsp fresh thyme
salt and pepper

Toss together well, till the cauli is well coated. Spread out into a single layer on a heavy, foiled-lined cookie sheet and bake for about 30 mins, or until tender.

Bring to the boil, in a small pot

1.25 c of water
1 tsp fake chicken stock

Add

1 c pearl couscous

Bring back to the boil, covered, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook about 10 mins until all the liquid is absorbed.

Toss everything together and serve with some Gardein Chicken Tenders.

Perfect Roasted Potatoes

The first thing you need to do is make sure you have the right potatoes for roasting – Yukons are great, and those little Yukon Creamers are especially good.

Try and pick potatoes that are roughly the same size, to ensure even cooking. Slice in half and place into a big bowl and wash really well – swirl them round and round, using your hands to swish them roughly in lots of cold water. This will release some of the starch and make them a lot creamier after cooking.

Dry well (the won’t brown if they’re wet), then toss into a bowl. Sprinkle generous amounts of garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cracked pepper and salt (smoked salt is great, too) on top, add about 1-2 tbsp of oil (you’d be surprised how little you need to evenly coat a pound or two of potatoes).

Line your largest cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread out the potatoes in a single layer – they won’t cook properly/evenly if they’re piled on top of each other. Bake at 425 F for 20mins, turn and return to the oven for another 10-20 mins. Test with a fork for doneness, and be careful not to overcook or they’ll be dry.

Asparagus with Creamy Lemon Miso Tahini Sauce

I had an amazing asparagus dish at an Indian restaurant recently, this is my attempt to recreate it.

These amounts are only a rough guide, because I didn’t actually measure anything: taste as you go!

For the dipping sauce:

2/3 c Tofutti sour cream
1/4 c soy yoghurt (plain, unsweetened)
1 tbsp fresh tahini
2 tsp yellow miso
2 tbsp raw cashews
3 cloves of garlic, either roasted or fried in a little oil till golden, then minced
a few pinches of smoked sea salt, Maldon or your preference
cracked pepper
1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
a dash of onion powder
a dash of garlic powder

Place everything into a food processor or mini blitzer or similar and process to a cream. Unless you happen to be fortunate enough to own a Vitamix, the cashews won’t process to a completely smooth consistency, but that’s okay for this sauce – the bittiness adds a bit of texture to the asparagus.

For the asparagus:

one bunch of thin-stemmed asparagus, with the woody parts snapped off
2-3 tbsp oil
several generous dashes of smoked paprika
several big pinches of smoked sea salt (I used Maldon)
cracked pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice
a dash of liquid smoke

I cooked my asparagus on the stove top because my oven was occupied but you could roast it, broil it or grill it (you won’t need the liquid smoke if you’re grilling it).

Heat a cast iron pan on medium-high, toss all the ingredients together and coat the asparagus well, then add to the pan. Cook a few minutes, till the spears start to brown a bit – asparagus should still be bright green and crunchy.

Serve with the dipping sauce on the side.

Banana Soft Serve with Rich Chocolate Peanut Butter Sauce

We needed dessert. Urgently. I knew had frozen bananas and some fancy ass dark chocolate, so I went searching for a quick and amazing recipe: this one from Oh She Glows. This isn’t exactly low fat, but at least it contains fruit!!

Set a small saucepan on the lowest heat setting on your stove and add in

100g of really good quality dark chocolate (I used Green and Black’s 85%)
6 tbsp of coconut cream (keep your coconut milk cans in the fridge: when you open one, you can easily scrap off the cream at the top)
1 tbsp coconut oil (I used refined this time, might try unrefined next)
2 tbsp maple syrup (you don’t want the sauce too sweet, added sugar depends on how dark your chocolate is, but the banana soft serve is really sweet itself)
3 tbsp smooth peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

whisk till completely melted, blended and smooth. Set aside.

Into your food processor goes

2-4 frozen bananas (I pre-slice my bananas, store them in ziploc bags, and freeze)
2-4 tbsp smooth peanut butter
1-2 tsp vanilla extract

Blend till smooth. This does take a while so be patient – at least several minutes before you get an ice cream-like consistency. It’ll appear grainy at first, almost crumbly, but you just gotta keep blending.

Serve big heaping spoonfuls of the banana soft serve in bowls, with generous lashings of chocolate sauce and a few pecans on top.

 

Red Pepper and Walnut Bean Sauce

A great dip, but even better as a pasta sauce. Original recipe found here.
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 c raw walnuts
1 bunch of basil leaves
1 can of butter beans (navy/cannellini/garbanzo would also work)
4 red peppers, roasted*
a splash of white balsamic
salt and pepper
1/2 c extra light olive oil
*Heat your oven to 450 F. Halve the peppers and scoop out the seeds, place on a foil-lined tray and bake for about 20 mins.
Throw everything in the food processor and blend while gradually pouring in the oil, till the consistency you like is achieved.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

This recipe was a little tricky, because it was google-translated from Romanian and the measurements are mils and grams. I have a small scale, but it’s a piece of shit and it’s not particularly accurate. Next time I make this, I’ll add some grated baking chocolate, a little more more sugar and bake it for about 15 more minutes. I take it back – after it had cooled completely, it tasted a lot better. I really like that it’s not a very sweet cake, but it’s very fluffy and light (more so than you’d think, considering the zucchini pieces). I’m excited to try making this again with a better quality cocoa.

There is no milk in the original version, but my batter was SUPER dry without it.

Sift together

270 g flour
1/2 tbsp baking powder*
1/2 tsp baking soda
75 g good quality unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
230 g sugar

Stir together

350 g grated zucchini
130 ml flavour-neutral oil (I used canola)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp egg replacer dissolved in 9 tbsp of cold water

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. If the batter seems dry, add a splash of milk, mix and repeat if necessary.

Line a loaf pan or cake tin with parchment paper (or grease and dust with cocoa powder), pour in the batter and bake at 355 F for 70 mins. Insert a skewer and if it comes out clean, the cake is done. Lift out using the edges of the parchment paper and set on a cooling rack for at least 45 mins before slicing.

*the original recipe said “1 package of baking powder”. Having no idea what that means, I just threw in half a tablespoon.

Ginger Loaf

This is a veganized version of a very old-fashioned New Zealand sweet loaf.

Heat your oven to 375 F. Line a loaf tin with parchment paper.

Cream together

1/2 tbsp egg replacer
1 1/2 tbsp water
2 oz Earth Balance
6 oz golden syrup
4 oz sugar

Then add the following in small, alternating, amounts, mixing well in between

3/4 c unsweetened soy milk
9 oz flour, sifted with
1 tbsp ground ginger

Lastly dissolve

1 tsp baking soda in
1/4 c hot water

Add to the bowl and  mix well. The batter should be fairly runny. Pour into your lined tin and bake about 65 mins: the loaf is done when a skewer comes out clean. Start testing at about the 45 min mark, as baking time will depend on your oven and tin size.

Once baked, remove from tin by lifting up the edges of the parchment paper and let it cool on a cookie rack for about 30 mins. Can be served warm or cold, plain or with butter/jam.

Stir Fry

It’s pretty difficult to do a true stir fry unless you have the fancy-ass butane set up, but after hunting round on the internet for stir recipes and tips, I found this most helpful. There are a bunch of different sauce recipes at the bottom of the link, I chose the basic soy sauce one.

In the past, when I’ve made my own version of a stir fry, I’ve always used a non-stick pan, but this recipe also suggested a cast iron skillet. I gave it a go, and it was pretty terrifying at first but it worked out amazing – just make sure that as soon as you’re done cooking, you empty the pan and fill it with water to soak for a bit!

This makes enough for about 3 people.

1 package of extra firm tofu, frozen and thawed
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp dry sherry

Squish the tofu between some papertowels, to squeeze out the excess water. Crumble into a bowl, then add the soy and sherry, combine and set aside.

Put a large cast iron skillet (mine is enamelled, so I put it on medium only and let it heat for at least 20 mins) on high heat while you prepare the following:

Mix together

1/4 c soy sauce
1 tsp not-chicken bouillon
1/4 c warm water
pinch of sugar
2 tsp of toasted sesame oil
2 tsp rice vinegar

and set aside.

In another small bowl, mix together

2 tsp cornstarch
2 tbsp warm water

and set aside.

Slice up the following veggies into same-sized pieces*

2 small yellow peppers
1/4 head of cabbage
7 shiitake mushrooms
1 medium yellow onion

and also have on hand

a big handful of pea shoots
4 cloves of minced garlic
1″ knob of ginger, minced

Have everything in bowls ready to go. Add to the pan

2 tbsp peanut oil

then throw in half the tofu and stir briskly for a couple of minutes. Now, it will look like the bottom of the pan is burning and it’s all turning shit (this is what I thought) but DON’T PANIC. It’s going to be okay, but if you have one of the exhaust vent things above your oven, now is a good time to turn it on, and make sure any doors between you and a smoke alarm are closed. Do the tofu in two batches so you don’t crowd the pan. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add to the pan

1 tbsp peanut oil

and then throw in the onions, stir briskly for about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger, then the cabbage and continue to stir. There will be brown flecks from the bottom of the pan, but this is going to add a really nice, smoky sort of flavour, so don’t stress about it. Cook the cabbage for about 2 minutes, then add the mushrooms. Stir for 3 minutes, then add the peppers. Stir again for 3 minutes and add the pea shoots. Add the tofu back in, and pour over the soy sauce mixture. Combine everything and then add the cornstarch slurry into the bottom. Stir it all up, remove from heat and serve with rice.

*Obviously, you can choose whateve veggies you prefer. When it comes to adding them to the pan, you want to start with the densest veg, the one that takes longest to cook, since it will be in the pan longest.

Truly Perfect (and low fat) Mashed Potatoes

Okay, this is it: perfectly creamy, fluffy, smooth mashed potatoes!

3 key points:
1. boil the potatoes till they’re falling apart
2. mash the shit out of them; mash them till you think they’re done, and then mash them some more
3. dry the potatoes out; you gotta get the water out to make room for the creaminess

Start off with russets – they make great mashed potatoes. Peel them and cut into 1″ chunks. Place in a large and cover with cold water and plenty of salt. Bring to a boil and then cook for about 20mins, till they’re falling apart.

Drain the potatoes in a colander and then return to the pot; put the element on the lowest setting and stir the potatoes for a few minutes, so they dry out.

Using a masher or a potato ricer, mash the  potatoes THOROUGHLY. This should take at least a few minutes. Add unsweetened soy milk – about 2-3 cups if you’re mashing around 6 large russets. Add a cup at a time till you get the right consistency. Now you can either use a hand whisk or get an elctric whisk (AMAZING), or use a stand mixer. Whisk the milk in vigorously till light and fluffy. Salt and pepper to taste.

Vegan Quiche

This is my first attempt at a vegan quiche! It was a good start, but the recipe definitely needs some work. I didn’t really like the crust, the onions were too sweet and too many, and I didn’t let it cook long enough (it was almost 9pm and I was starving!). But the “eggy” part came out really well.

1 c flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 + 1 tbsp shortening
2-3 tbsp ice-cold water

Put the flour, salt and shortening into your food processor and pulse till crumbs form. Continue to pulse while adding the water 1 tbsp at a time, till a ball forms. Form into a disk shape and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about 45 mins.

1 package of Tofutti cream cheese
12 oz of silken tofu (firm)
2 tbsp warm water
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp smoked salt
1/2 tsp not-chicken bouillon
1 tsp cornstarch

Dissolve the garlic powder, cornstarch, and bouillon in the water. Add everything to the food processor and blend till smooth. Heat the oven to 425 F.

3 onions, thinly sliced into half moons (I would use half this next time)
2 tbsp oil
1 big handful spinach
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp Bacon Bits (they’re vegan!)
a handful of Daiya cheese
black pepper

Cook the onions in the oil, in a cast iron pan, on medium till wilted and caramelized.
Turn the chilled dough out onto your floured bench. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough so it fits the pan/dish you’re using (I used a 9″ spring-form cake tin). Sprinkle a little flour over the top, then fold the dough in half and in half again. Place it into your dish/pan and unfold. Press firmly into the pan. Bake the crust for about 12 mins.
Remove the pan from the oven and pour in HALF the “egg” mix. Sprinkle over the onions, spinach, bacon bits and cheese. Pour the rest of the egg mix over top. Sprinkle the paprika over top plus some black pepper. Bake for about 45 mins till it appears set. Serve with a good balsamic-dressed green salad.