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.

Beetroot dip and the removal of my teeth

Well I have survived getting all four of my wisdom teeth out. The night before the operation, I had a bunch of friends come round for dinner. We had an awesome feast of which I will blog about later (when I don't feel more sleepy) but I needed to make a dip for everyone to snack on before dinner.

As I was going through the vegetable box in my fridge I found 2 small beetroot in the bottom that I had forgotten about. What was I going to do with them? They were going a bit soft and were probably not going to last until after my teeth were better - so I decided to boil them up and see what sort of beetroot dip I could make.

While peeling the beetroot (after I cooked them), I vowed I would never buy beetroot again - it squirted all over a tshirt and the bench and everything was tinged pink. Everyone loved the dip so much though (and it wasn't hard to make) that I may have to rethink my "no beetroot" decision.

So here is my version of beetroot hummus - it was devoured by everyone (even the more skeptical omni's that made up my dinner guests). This dip does not require any extra oil. Using warm chickpeas creates a smooth texture without the addition of any extra oil.

Beetroot Hummus
2 small-medium beetroot
2 cloves garlic - peeled
1 1/2 cups cooked WARM chickpeas
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp tahini
1 tsp cumin
reserved chickpea cooking liquid OR warm vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the beetroot in a saucepan of salted water until tender (mine took about 1/2 hour). Allow the beetroot to cool and then peel and chop into largish chunks.
In a food processor, process the garlic. Stop, scrape down the sides and process again. Add the chickpeas, beetroot, lemon juice, tahini, cumin and enough reserved chickpea liquid to allow the mixture to blend easily. Add salt and pepper to taste and add more liquid to achieve desired consistancy. **The dip will firm up a lot when it cools so make it runnier than you think you need to**
Scrape into a serving dish or container and allow to cool completly in the fridge before serving.
Garnish with parsely.

And here is me a few hours after my surgery
with an ice pack on my face.

Tangy Tempeh with Green Beans and Peanut Sauce

Well tomorrow morning (7.30am) I go into hospital to have all 4 wisdom teeth out. Tonight I am having a bunch of friends around to our unit for a sort of "last supper" of sorts. I am going to be doing a bit of an indian feast so I am a little excited.

Anyway - what I really wanted to blog about is an awesome tempeh recipe. Tempeh is quite expensive around here and so I very rarely buy it - and when I do buy it I usually make the same recipe - because I know that it is nice and I don't want to waste good tempeh on a bad recipe.

Anyway I had some tempeh, but none of the other ingredients in my other good tempeh recipe. So I went on a bit of a hunt. I was almost going to make tempeh bacon from VWaV - but I wanted to make a dinner that wasn't too shabby (the amount of potatoes we have consumed in the last week in the form of fries, mashed potatoes and potato salad is quite disgusting).

I found this recipe on the net. I changed it slightly so I will put in my changes - but I am sure that the original recipe would be just as nice. This served 2 very hungry people and it will be something that I will be making again because it was so quick and easy!

Tangy Tempeh and Beans

1 block of tempeh (mine was 250g) - cubed
2 tsp olive oil
4tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp apple juice concentrate
1/4 cup water
1 clove garlic - minced
1 1/2 cups green beans - sliced into 3cm lengths (or any other green vegetable you fancy - broccoli would be particularly good).

1/2 cup peanut butter (I used one that is solely made from ground peanuts)
1 tbsp agave syrup
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp fresh ginger - minced
1 cloves garlic - minced
1/4 - 1/2 cup hot water (depending how runny you want your sauce - I used closer to 1/2 cup)
salt and pepper to taste

Mix the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, concentrate, water and garlic together and pour over tempeh cubes that are in a medium sized saucepan and marinate for at least an hour - flip tempeh occasionally.

Put saucepan on the stove and bring the marinade to the boil. Simmer, covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally. After 10 minutes add the green beans and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes. Uncover and simmer until the tempeh is almost dry.

Place remaining ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy, adjust the amount of water and salt and pepper to taste.

Place tempeh and beans over a bed of rice and then pour peanut sauce over the tempeh. Enjoy!

apple cabbage and spinach salad and Pumpkin oat cookies

Apple, red cabbage and spinach salad. Yuuummmmm.

Well today was a (relatively) busy day for me. I am on holidays but I had a few pre-employment things to sort out. I had to go and get a pre-employment medical done (all clear!!) and then I went to do some op-shopping for some work clothes. I found 4 really nice shirts and one skirt and it all came to under $15 (I think it was $14 exactly). I am trying to walk everywhere so as to help lower my carbon emissions and also reduce the amount of money that we pay for transport.

By the time I got home I was pretty hungry. I initially ate a piece of corn on the cob (it was raw and beautifully sweet). Then I decided to whip up a salad inspired by The Café Fresh Cookbook. It was so simple and easy. I just thinly sliced some red cabbage (local and organic) and some baby spinach leaves (local and organic). I then added a small handful of sultanas and 1/2 a diced jonagold apple (which was the only type of apple I had on hand - this apple is crisp and has a bit of a bite to it but is still quite sweet). I then made a dressing from the juice of 1/2 orange and 1 1/2 tsp of apple juice concentrate and poured this over the salad. It was just divine - I had to stop myself from having seconds.

Pumpkin Oat Cookies

Two days ago I made VWaV's Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies. I cooked and pureed my own pumpkin because you can't buy canned pumpkin here and I added the flaxseeds, used coconut oil instead of canola oil and used sultanas instead of raisins. I also used spelt flour which seemed to work fine.

I found it a little difficult knowing when these cookies were cooked - they do firm up a LOT when they come out of the oven. They tasted a lot like ANZAC biscuits. I took them to a staff meeting and everyone loved them (and thought that they were ANZACs). I will be making these again but I have notes in my VWaV that these are still REALLY soft when they come out of the oven.

Easy Pea-zy fried rice

First of all, I want to apologise for the crappy photo - I had a hungry husband and both of us had had a long day and frankly this smelt SO good that it didn't hang around for long on the table getting photographed. I have never made fried rice before, but after having Nat's mum and brother and sister in law over for dinner a few nights ago, Nat and I found ourselves with a lot of leftover rice (I over estimated how hungry people would be!!)

Anyway - I had to go to a staff meeting and end of year party yesterday and Nat was working all day so by the time both of us were home it was late and I didn't have anything prepared. I looked in the fridge and the rice was staring back at me and so I decided to make fried rice.

Fried Rice is SO easy if you have left over rice - and while I don't usually cook with so much oil - it was nice for a treat. Although the ingredient list looks long, this meal was whipped up in under 30 minutes, and I was going slowly - I could have had it on the table in much less time if I had really been bothered. I used a recipe that I was given in grade 7 cooking class - but I modified the amount of oil and the spices and ingredients other than the rice. You can modify the ingredients with what you have on hand. Other veggies could include - cauliflower, corn, broccoli, finely diced cabbage, capsicum, asparagus - just make sure that everything is chopped quite small.

I used little pieces of Kittee's Seitan (which I think is marvelous!!) chopped up - but you could also easily use chickpeas, cashews or re hydrated TVP.

There should have been leftovers for this dish but we were both so hungry (and it was so Delicious) that it only fed the two of us (Nat went back for seconds). So I would say that this dish serves 2 hungry very hungry people, or 2 moderately hungry people with some left-overs for the next day.

Easy Pea-zy Fried Rice

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion - diced
3-4 garlic cloves - minced
1 stalk celery - diced
2-3 medium carrots - chopped
2 spring onions - chopped
2 medium sized mushrooms - chopped (I used the normal white button mushies - any mushroom would do though)
1/2 cup seitan/re hydrated TVP*/chickpeas
4 tbsp soy sauce
2-3 cups of cooked rice (I used medium grain brown - use whatever cooked rice you have on hand)
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp sage
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/8 - 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup water

Pour about 2 tbsp of oil into a large (non-stick) frying pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot enough (a piece of onion will cause bubbles in the oil when dropped in), put in the onion, garlic, carrots and celery. Stir for 2-3 minutes
Add 2 tbsp of soy sauce and then the spring onions and mushrooms. Continue to stir until the onions are almost done (they will become opaque).
Scrape all the vegetables to one side of the frying pan and then add the cooked rice to the cleared side. Press down on the rice using the back of your wooden spoon (or stirring implement) and then pour 1 tbsp of oil and 2 tbsp of soy sauce onto the rice. After a minute stir the rice and then pat down again.
Add the spices and mix rice again.
When rice is heated through - mix it in with the vegetables. Add the peas and then cook until peas are heated through. Serve.