Lucy Speaks

Christmas is a time of family and friends and joy. But it is also a time of suffering for the many animals that are imprisoned in factory farms across the globe.

Billions of animals suffer needlessly each year. Animals Australia have put together the Lucy Speaks radio campaign. These ads are getting played across Australia in prime time slots to try to highlight the plight of pigs.

I would encourage you to go to the website and listen to the ad.

Please spread the word and share the ad with your friends and family (post it to your blog or facebook page).

You can also donate to the campaign to get more ads played on the air. Nat and I are thinking that we will give a few ads as Christmas presents. Maybe if you are looking for a present for a difficult to buy person you could do the same??

An award

Tara from The Snowy Vegan gave me an award.

Here's a little info about this award:

"This blog invests and believes in PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

Tara (who used to author the blog Married Vegan Yogi) is a blogger who started blogging about the same time that I did and I have thoroughly enjoyed the blogging relationship that has developed. Her new blog is awesome and I think you should all check it out.

So I am now going to choose 8 bloggers that I have learnt a lot from and really enjoy reading their blogs.

Jessy from Happyveganface
Allularpunk from Awesome.vegan.rad
Jess from Cupcake Punk
Ricki from Diet Dessert and Dogs
Marni from La Vegan Loca
Tami from Vegan Appetite
Nicole from Sweet Potatoe
Miss V from Miss V's Vegan Cookbook

Sorry for my absence

Hi all, I realise that I haven't blogged here for ages - things have just been crazy.
I started work at the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday. The people are all really lovely which is nice - what wasn't so nice was that on my first day of work I had to go to a work lunch and there was NOTHING vegan on the menu apart from "lettuce leaves with citrus dressing". How embarrassing to only be able to eat lettuce (thus perpetrating the image that vegans only eat rabbit food). So because I didn't want to eat only lettuce I ordered some sourdough bread which came with butter - so I ended up spending a forking fortune for some lettuce and a few pieces of bread. I was really angry and rather embarrassed. Next week is another lunch - and as I know about it before hand I got the menu - and once again all I can eat are the side dishes of salad or vegetables (and once again I will be paying about $10 per side dish). I hate eating out in Hobart :(

Nat and I have been eating (which is a good start) - but at the end of the day I have just been too tired to take a photo of what I make - Nat and I also had Nat's mum down for two nights and then my brother down for one night and so we have hardly had any time to breath - let alone cook and blog.

I just thought I would show you a few pictures of some dishes that we have had over the last fortnight. Then I think I will go and have a nap - I am so tired (I worked at the Organic Market Stall from 5.30am this morning and only just got back home). Tara nominated me for a blog award- but I think I will do that a bit later tonight.

So onto the eating!!

Pumpkin Oat Patties (made up recipe that needs
a lot of tweaking before I post it), wedges and green beans.

Zucchini Mozzarella Sticks from Happy Herbivore. These were really good. A healthy snack - I was a little lazy and didn't crush up the bread crumbs as much as I should have but it still worked well.

Chickpea and Spinach Curry from VWaV. I thought this was nice. But I have simpler chickpea spinach Marsala recipe that I enjoy much better.

I don't know how often I will be able to blog until Christmas - but I try to be a little bit more diligent. I hope you stay sane over the Christmas period.

Sparkled Ginger Cookies are SO good

VWaV Sparkled Ginger Cookies

Oh My Goodness - if you have not made these cookies then you do not know what you are missing out on!!! I made these three days ago and I think that these will be the cookies that I bake for Christmas parties and Christmas day snacks. I used to love an awesome ginger cake that my friends mum (the owner and chef of the restaurant where Nat and I got married) used to make - this had that flavour.

They were a different texture to a lot of the cookies I usually make. I made them quite large and they pillowed up and looked very pretty. They had a beautiful soft texture. mmm..... they will not last as long as I thought they might. Oh well - I am not upset because they were so ridiculously easy that it will take no time to make them again.

VWaV kicks some cookie arse once again!!

Oh - does anyone know of a good ginger cake recipe?? I would love to make one.

Our Walk in Southwest National Park

Today its been a week since I had my teeth out - it all went really well - the stiches will fall out in a day or two and then I go back to the surgeon in a couple of weeks for the final checkup. It really helped my recovery that the last few days of spring and the first few days of summer had rubbish weather!!

Yesterday was the first beautiful day of summer and nat and I both had the day off (YAY!) We decided to go for a bushwalk in the South West National Park. Because I have been rather slothful for the last week (and the last few months due to winter and study) I was a little nervous going for a big walk. We decided to walk to the hut just below Mt Eliza. The walk was steep and oh my goodness the views were to die for! We decided to not climb to the sumit because although I am not too bad going up steep rocky things I (and my knees and ankles) really struggle coming down. So we gave it a miss this time.

For those who are interested here are some pics from the day:

Me and Nat - just heading out on our adventure (actually we are a little way up the mountain)

Mt Anne is the peak - the Mt Eliza walk continues onto Mt Anne - it is the toughest day walk in Tasmania (according to what Nat has read)

Me trying to get a splinter out of my finger. (That is what used to be Lake Pedder in the background before the Hydro Electric Commission Flooded it - its still pretty)

I got the splinter out!!!

At the hut just about to eat our lunch. We packed sandwiches with kittee's seitan, vegan mayo (recipe to come in a day or two), BBQ sauce (nat's only) and home grown salad greens. We also had WVaV ginger cookies and a fruit and nut mix. Mmmmmm... food tastes so good when you have just walked up a mountain.

Can you seen the ribbon of track on the two rises - it was so pretty to watch the track unfold down to our car.

Finally blogging about our indian feast

Clockwise from top: Tamarind Lentils, Chickpea Masala,
Aloo Mutter Gobi (Spicy Pea Potato and Cauliflower Curry), brown rice.

Well I was going to blog about this meal a while ago but I have been rather busy recovering. Who would have thought that I would sleep so much?!?!?! Granted the pain killers I was taking initially totally knocked me out - they also made me feel very nauseous - so I stopped taking them. I am still spending the majority of my time in bed or on the couch.

Before I tell you about this meal I want to apologise for not commenting on all of your lovely blog posts. I have been reading about all of your thanksgiving festivities but have not really had the energy to type much.

So the night before my surgery I had a group of friends over for dinner (8 friends to be precise). I thought that an Indian meal would be an easy way to serve so many people.

I served the curry with brown rice and this garlic naan. The whole meal all went down a treat. I personally loved the chickpea masala and the lentils, however most of my guests thought that the best dish was the Aloo Mutter Gobi when I found that to be the blandest of all the dishes - it goes to show how people's taste buds are different.

I finally made the Tamarind Lentils from VCon. They are so GOOD - I can't believe that it took this long for me to make them - they are easy and tasty.

Chickpea and Spinach Masala (adapted from The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook).
Preparation : 15 mins
Total cooking: 30mins
Serves: 4

2 onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2tsp olive oil
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground corriander
4 cups cooked chickpeas (or 2 tins) - drained
1 tin diced tomatoes
1 tsp garam masala
150g frozen spinach

1. Heat oil in a large pan, add onion and garlic and cook over medium heat, stirring until soft.
2. Add the chili powder, salt, turmeric, paprika, cumin and coriander. Stir for 1 minute.
3. Add chickpeas and undrained tomatoes, stir until combined. Simmer, covered over low heat for 15minutes, stiring occasionally. Add spinach and garam masala and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes.
4. Serve over rice or wrapped in chapattis or naan bread.
   

Aloo Mutter Gobi (Spicy Potato Pea and Cauliflower curry)
Cooking Time: 45mins
Serves 4
800g potatoes, peeled and diced
2 tsp olive oil
1 brown onion - diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
900g cauliflower florets (approx. one small cauliflower)
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garam masala
400g (1 can) diced tomatoes
1 cup vegetable stock
1 cup frozen peas

1. In a large pan add oil, onions and garlic and cook until soft.
2. Add potatoes and spices and stir until the potatoes are covered. Add the tomatoes and vegetable stock and simmer 10-15 minutes. Add cauliflower and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes until cauliflower and potatoes are tender. Add peas and continue to simmer uncover until the peas are tender and all the liquid is absorbed.