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 hot that no silverbeet has been growing so I can't share that recipe with you yet as I do need a photo for that and forgot to take one on new years eve.
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 then some poolside, picnic, BBQ ideas.
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 health) is a great antioxidant, can serve as a diuretic, apparently nourishes the digestive tract, is of course a good source of fibre and is high in B1.
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 together for two fun filled days of learning and as part of these two days they shared one of their recipes with the group, and over time, mostly when their ingredients are in season I will share with you all their delicious recipes.
A Fusion Summer Salad with Watermelon
I 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 think it would be great if you put this book on your cookbook wish list as it’s a beauty.
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 sandwich/salad/breakfast takeaway joint was.
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 this lovely retreat guest.
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.
Sorrel Hummus
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 hummus as I have got so used to making hummus without garlic and just love it, but many think it is lacking something and I always know what it is. Its the pungent sharp taste that garlic provides. If I do add garlic I will cook the garlic first. In my traditional hummus recipe I ensure like my Israeli friends do, to add the lemon last and make sure there is ample of it as well as ample tahini.
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 every time I ate sour cream or creamy products was something I was happy to say good bye to.
