Tempeh Fingers with Hemp Seed Tartare
Calling all Budding Vegan Chefs I am curious to know who of you reading this blog post would like to pursue being a chef as either a hobby or profession. My story was that at the age of sixteen I wanted to be a chef but as I was vegetarian no one would take me on as an apprentice. I let go of that dream and pursued my other dreams, working with people with disabilities and being a...
Warrigal Greens and Sunflower Seed Hummus
Warrigal Greens and Sunflower Seed Hummus It’s week three of my blog schedule and I am enjoying having a theme to go with each week. This week is seasonal produce. I’m excited as this is a seasonal vegetable that is native to both Australia and New Zealand. It can also be found in South American countries. It’s a hardy plant that likes sandy and marshy conditions to grow. It grows wild in...
Steamed Veg with Tahini Sauce
Organic Food is Cheaper Than You Think For eight years now my partner and I have been living on a full organic diet. When shopping for fruit and veg and dry foods we buy organic food only. There is the odd exception when we go away or eat out as there is not really any fully organic café or restaurant in Australia and when I go to India it is hard to eat 100% organic. However on a daily...
Green Harissa (a condiment for everything)
In the foundation vegan course we look at ways to make cooking delicious but easy, so you eat well all the time. One of the many ways we do this is to create ‘go-to sauces and dips’ that you can have in your fridge at all times, that you can use for breakfast, lunch, dinner or for snacks. Well let me tell you how that has worked for me this week. I had some green chillies in my fridge with no...
Curing my childhood nostalgia with Green Papaya Salad (Som Tum)
You know those meals that you had growing up that you just can’t get out of your head. Something that you just have to have from time to time to overcome the nostalgia. Green Papaya Salad (Som Tum) is one of those dishes for me. When I moved to Darwin from the tiny town of Katherine in the Northern Territory at the age of nine I couldn’t believe the sights, sounds and tastes of this new world I...
Jazzing up a Salad with Black Bean and Walnut Kofta Balls
In the last vegan foundation course Grace and Mark made a delicious salad with black bean kofta balls. They were a real treat. I had a left over eggplant from the course and decided to develop their recipe further by putting chopped walnuts and mashed eggplant in the koftas. It worked and they are lovely and crunchy but moist at the same time. You can serve them with a decadent...
Spicy Moroccan Carrots & Carrot Top Pesto
It's Carrot Time As many of you know already, I am in the middle of teaching the Vegan Chef and Lifestyle Training for 2018. While I am enjoying this course immensely I am pushed for time to create my own recipes to showcase in the weekly newsletter I send out. So this week I am borrowing one of the recipes the chef students created last week and also sharing a pesto that features in module two...
Fig and Orange Salad (what a treat)
While I still see figs in the fruit and veg fridge at our local health food shop (Santos) I think I should quickly get this salad recipe out to you while the figs are still in season. This is a recipe I would never have thought of making so I am delighted it came my way. In the Vegan foundation Course the participants get to create their signature dish and Suzanne and Mike decided to try...
To Dress or Not to Dress? (That is the Question)
Do you always dress your salads or is salad dressing not so important to you? I grew up with either having vinegar or mayonnaise on my salads. Sometimes I was able to eat a salad without any dressings. These days I couldn’t possibly eat a salad without a dressing. With so many delicious dressing around these days it almost feels a crime not to add one and the beauty is we can make them all...
Its easier than you think to get all your nutrients on a vegan diet (plus 3 zinc filled recipes)
A few people of late have asked me for recipes and ideas to help them transition into a vegan diet more easily. It's too much to share in one email so I feel I will need to do a series. This is the first blog of three or four, I would say. I'm starting with vitamins, minerals and nutrients as this is what often concerns people (protein will come in another blog). I'm a believer that if you eat a...
Dips for the Weekend
It feels like an eternity ago since we celebrated the turning of the new year. For new years eve and new years day dinner Makrand and I enjoyed a lush antipasto platter and I did promise recipes from the platter on social media. We had garlic bread, dips and cheeses, silverbeet dolmades and pan fried mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, artichokes olives and veggie sticks. Since new year it has been so...
Spreading Kindness this Christmas with Delicious Vegan Food
What I love about vegan food is everyone can eat it. So even if you aren’t vegan, if you take vegan food along to any festive or Christmas gathering this year you will make everyone happy as it will be all inclusive. All of my recipes are gluten free so you will have that covered too. I am sharing with you this week some delightful recipes to make, a lovely traditional Christmas meal and...
Cooking with Seasonal Produce – It’s Asparagus time!
Cooking with Seasonal Produce – It’s Asparagus time!It's asparagus season and I need to get in quick with this blog as asparagus season is often short lived, where I live anyway. There are all sorts of nutritional benefits to eating asparagus, like it has a good source of vitamin A (which we need for our eyesight, building our immunity and reproduction of cells and it also helps with organ...
Eggplant Super Ball
A few weeks back I did a little write up on Jessie Rae, one of 2016 graduated vegan chefs. Did anyone try her delectable hemp chocolate cake? If so how did it go? In this week’s blog it is Pandora’s recipe I will share with you. For those of you who didn’t read Jessie’s blog and for those who have forgotten I will do a recap. On the 5th and 6th of September the graduated chefs of 2016 came back...
A Fusion Summer Salad with Watermelon
A Fusion Summer Salad with WatermelonI am reviewing books in every other post or so. A few months back I reviewed a few recipes from Saffron Soul by Mira Manek. Both the kidgeree and the granola were recipes I developed from this book. I want to share with you two more recipes I have developed from inspiration through reading this book. A salad recipe this week and a curry next week. Then I...
Vegan Egg Mayonnaise
I was lucky enough to find myself in Fitzroy, Melbourne a few weeks back attending a 5 rhythms workshop. I hadn’t been to Melbourne for three years so it was a pleasant surprise to see that even more vegan restaurants, cafes and shops had opened up. One morning before my class I took a stroll to Smith and Deli and was amazed by all they had to offer there and also by how busy this gorgeous...
Nut free recipes for those that are allergic or sensitive to nuts
Life often presents challenges and in the end it always becomes something positive. The last retreat I catered on there was someone who was allergic to a lot of nuts. Not just allergic but anaphylactic allergic so I was on super alert for cross contamination.I realised that a few of my dishes were all the more special due to using cashews in them and wanted to find a way to replicate these for...
Picnic Food Ideas Including a Quinoa Tabbouleh with a Magical Tahini Sauce
As I am writing this I am planning a kayak trip up our local river and then plan to have a picnic in my front yard before getting back to my paper work. So it feels like it’s picnic time and time to get out my picnic creativity.I am instantly taken back to memories of the school holidays in the early eighties when my brother and I used to go to the local swimming pool for the day. We weren’t into...
Sorrel Hummus
What is your favourite hummus recipe (if you don’t have one this one is a goodie)?In the vegan foundation course we cover an hour or so on essential sauces to have in your fridge. I extend the sauces to also include pesto and most people’s favourite, hummus. No one’s fridge needs to be without hummus for too long. It is interesting watching the participants in the class when they first taste my...
How fermented cashew cheese has changed my life
Do you remember any food that has changed or shaped your life?For me it was cashew sour cream, overnight it turned me from being a vegetarian of twenty eight years to a person who eats a fully plant based diet. Cashew sour cream showed me how delicious food could be without having to exploit animals and also made me realise how much my body had been suffering from eating dairy. Feeling nauseous...
Where do you get your protein from?
A very common cry from meat eaters to people who announce they are vegan is “Where do you get your protein from?” I am ever grateful my mum asked me this question at the age of sixteen as it sent me on a quest of finding out just what protein was. In my early twenties I had the good fortune of a naturopath telling me to eat protein with every meal and then in recent years another naturopath...
Mushroom Pepper Sauce
What takes your fancy, white or black pepper?What pepper was used in your house? I couldn’t remember past the black pepper in the grinder but recently was reminded that I grew up with white pepper. I had completely forgotten this until one of the guest teachers who was teaching on the Vegan chef and lifestyle training requested I buy white pepper for him. I wasn’t really sure why he wanted it...
Quinoa lentil and Cauliflower Salad with a Currant Sauce
Book review time. Last Tuesday I went on a book shop binge and $269 later I walked out with two canvas bags full (I am praying my partner is not reading this blog post because that really was extravagant). Amongst those books was a great new cookbook called Neighbourhood by Hetty Mckinnon. This by no means is a vegan cookbook but definitely is vegetarian. I actually prefer to buy vegetarian...
Salad Remnoise with Sunflower Seed Dip
A salad made from veggies found in the fridge - tastier than tasty can beWhere I live it is starting to warm up and I love this time of the year. It is warm enough to eat salads every meal of every day which brings me great joy as salad is my favourite food. What I especially love during spring is salad with some cooked components and some raw ingredients too. As I sat writing this blog last...
Preservative Free Vegan Mayonnaise
Hi There Everyone, When I was studying to be a primary school teacher way back in 1993 I took myself to the CSIRO for a science assignment and while I was waiting for the person I was there to meet I noticed a guide on food preservatives. The guide listed what each food preservative number meant and the potential side effects of each number. I was shocked to see some of the possible side effects...
Warm White Bean Dip with Raw and Roasted Veg
Vegan Fondue (is that even possible) the last recipe review of the book ' My New Roots'For those who follow my blog posts you will remember last year I started a recipe review on Sarah Britons book ' My New Roots'. A month or so back the realisation that I had left that project unfinished hit me and then in the last foundation module of The Vegan Chef and Lifestyle Training, two of the...
Easy BBQ Sauce Recipe from Scratch
Are you up for a challenge? No meat May - an interview with one of the foundersAre any of you out there reading this up for a challenge? As tomorrow marks the first of May, Ryan Alexander and a whole group of people are helping others rise to the challenge of giving up meat fro the month of May. Its an easy challenge for me as I have given up meat for a lifetime but I know many of you want...
Balsamico Herb Salt Olive Oil and Maple Syrup
An interview with Deva Premal and Miten on being veg(etari)an for lifeIn 1997 I was working in the kitchen at a music festival in Osho Leela in Dorset.I was incredibly new to the world of Osho and there was a lot of hype about Miten and his girlfriend Deva Premal performing in concert. I wasn’t sure what all the fuss was about and when someone asked me if I was going I replied probably not as I...
Potato Patties with Sweet Brazilian Cherry Sauce
A Christmas Idea The Whole Family Will Love Is Christmas time an easy time for you or one fraught with all sorts of emotions. As a child I loved the build up to christmas but always noticed my dad had to work pretty hard during that time and the absence of our extended family was very felt. Missing all our relatives on christmas day reminiscing of how it used to be. Fortunately for us...
Making recipes vegan or dairy free is soooooo easy (3 fabulous vegan recipes from reviewing My New Roots)
What a great idea it is to review a cook book. Two blog posts ago I mentioned that I am reviewing recipes in My New Roots by Sarah Britton and changing the recipes to vegan recipes. It is great fun and I completely recommend grabbing a vegetarian cook book and doing the same.I am not reviewing every recipe just those that make me salivate from the sheer glimpse of ingredients listed. I have...
Miso Tahini Sauce and Thai Basil Pesto
What is buzzing and humming food? (plus an idea to make those times when you need to get a quick meal or snack easier)I am rehasing an old blog post here, one that I know many of you missed so thought to run this idea past you.Do you prefer buzzing food or humming food?What is this you may ask?It is something my partner and I talked about years ago, it was his analogy. When I stopped eating...
Spicy Tahini Dressing
How I Became Inspired Again to Write Weekly Blogs (plus monthly recipe review - My New Roots)As many of you know I have focused my time and attention this year on creating The Vegan Cooking School. Establishing a wonderful training for people wanting to become vegan chefs or those who want to adopt a more healthy lifestyle.As a result of juggling the new school and all the usual catering jobs I...
Nut Balls with Tahini Coconut Yoghurt Sauce
Could you go without meat for a week? Go on give it a go.How long can you go without eating meat?Can you go a week without eating meat- this week is your chance to give it a go. The 23rd of March to the 29th of March is Meat free week- an initiative set up in 2013What is meat free week?Meat free week is an opportunity t,o as a collective give up meat for a week-Why give up meat for a week?Three...
Brazil Nut Hummus
A great way to make organic food cheap I am baffled when people tell me they would eat organic food if it were cheaper. I buy organic lettuce from my farmers market for the exact same price as I would if I bought a lettuce from the super market. My farmers market lettuce is a bit smaller but it definitely is more filling and it lasts much longer in the fridge. Organic apples are $2 more dearer...
Basic tomato sauce for spaghetti or spiralised zucchini
Catering for everyone's individual dietary requirements is actually easy- believe meSomething that comes easily in the kitchen for me is catering for everyone's individual dietary requirements. Through this very simple recipe I show you how. My partner wanted spaghetti for dinner with a good cream sauce, he is gluten free. I am presently trying to regulate my blood sugar levels so didn't want...
Raw Zucchini and Carrot Noodles with an Unnamed Sauce
Did you know that peanuts aren't actually nuts? (plus a great alternative recipe to peanut sauce)Peanuts were the first "nut' I ever ate, by the handful smothered in salt feeling happy to be eating them as well as feeling guilty that I couldn't share them with my brother. As a child my brother was highly allergic to peanuts. I loved them when I was young but for a few decades now have stayed...
Delicious Meals for People with Diabetes (that the whole family will love)
A few months ago I found out it was National Diabetics week and I regretted not knowing about it so I could have posted a blog that week. Weeks and weeks later I am still determined to get a blog post out to you as it is a subject close to home. My father has type two diabetes and even though he has had it for more than twenty years I am only just beginning to understand what Diabetes is....
Christmas Ideas and Healthy alternatives for Eating Salmon
This is an extra blog post this week to give you some wonderful ideas for Christmas and keep you from reaching for a packet salmon. I am not entirely sure why but in the last few weeks it has been bought to my attention how much salmon is being consumed these days.This led me to look into why people are eating salmon and how it is farmed. Alarmingly salmon is grown with very few ethics and in my...
Iron Rich Foods and Steamed Veg with Raisin Dressing
I woke up yesterday with this bright idea to write one complete blog post on Iron but realised I have too much information to share in one post. So I will take time to write blog posts over the next months getting as much information as I can to you on obtaining enough iron. I started to write some information about the different types of iron and gave myself a headache so for this blog...
Preservative Free cooking 2 & Three Dips
The other week catering on a yoga teacher training, two plumbers rocked up to the kitchen I was cooking in and put in a dishwasher. As one of them was installing the dishwasher the other was fascinated in the food I was cooking and was quizzing me on the spices I was putting together. I was making a Vietnamese style curry from scratch and he asked me if I was using brown rice. He was happy that I...
Quick and Easy Pasta Sauce Recipe
Preservative Free CookingLast week I couldn’t resist picking up and purchasing the woman’s weekly vegetarian cookbook. The first vegetarian cook book I ever bought at sixteen was the woman’s weekly one. Much has changed since I was sixteen, nice big glossy photos, lots of internationally inspired herbs and spices, and a brilliant array of grains and pulses being used. Also it appears that...
