Microwave mug brownie recipe

Being a woman, once a month my body loudly demands offerings of chocolate. Its preferred form is brownies. Before I was vegan, I had a simple solution to this: single serve packets of triple-choc 'microwave brownies'. Sometimes I would eat three in one day. Since going vegan though, I now just eat a lot of Cottees chocolate ice-cream topping because the last thing I feel like doing while moping on the lounge with my hot water bottle is baking a batch of brownies... then doing all the dishes created by making said brownies.

But lo! I have discovered a delicious and pretty effortless solution! Enter.... the microwave mug brownie! I saw this recipe as an image on Facebook, I'm not sure who originally created it, but the image I saw can be found on this website. It takes 2 minutes to make, 1 minute and 40 seconds to cook, creates almost no dishes, and superbly satisfies the bodily demands for sugar, fat, and carbs. Truly, the food of gods.

Serves: 1

1/4 cup white self raising flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp cocoa
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp water

1. Combine all dry ingredients in a mug.

2. Add oil and water and mix until thoroughly combined.

3. Cook in microwave on high for 1 minute 40 seconds.

4. Eat as is or top with chocolate topping.

Variation: add 1-2 tbsp vegan choc-chips (such as Sweet William) to dry ingredients at step 1 for a very chocolaty chocolate brownie.

Happy eating! :)

Tropical paradise smoothie recipe

We have been having freakishly warm weather for this time of year here in Adelaide so I've been getting about in shorts and t-shirts, hanging my washing out and getting it DRY, and enjoying the warm breezes and sunshine. All of this has got me feeling very summery and so this morning the Tropical Paradise Smoothie was born.

Serves 1

Flesh of 1 mango
Pulp of 1 passion fruit
1/2 banana (or you could use a so-tiny-it's-cute ladyfinger banana like I did!)
1 dessert spoon of dessicated coconut
2 tbsp vanilla soy ice-cream (coconut ice-cream or Coyo yoghurt would also be delicious)
1 cup breakfast juice (or you could use tropical or orange juice)

1. Blend it all up until smooth.

2. Drink it up with your eyes closed, pretending you're relaxing on the beach while on holiday in a tropical paradise. Your holiday is long and you have no worries in the world.

3. Sigh contentedly.

Happy eating (and drinking)! :)

Fadge recipe

I come from an English-Irish background and fadge is a traditional dish in my family. Originating from Ireland and eaten as part of a fry up, cooked breakfast, or as a tasty snack, fadge can only really be described as a 'potato pancake'. I know, it sounds really gross doesn't it? It's not though! Fadge is something that on paper sounds so wrong and yet tastes so right. It really is something you have to try and I can honestly say I have never fed it to anyone who didn't like it (picky children included). It also provides a 'choose your own adventure' ending, as you will see. Be brave and give fadge a chance I say!

Serves: not many in our family as we all want to hog it for ourselves!

Cold mashed potatoes, preferably refrigerated overnight
Plain white flour
Nuttelex

1. Using your hands, mix the flour into the mashed potato until a dough is formed. It should be soft but not too sticky.

2. On a floured work surface and with a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out until it is around half a centimetre thick. Using a glass or something else of a similar size (my mum uses a small saucepan lid), cut the dough into round pancake shapes.

3. Cook under the grill until golden on both sides. Bubbles will appear on the surface and may turn slightly black, that's fine.

Now, here's where the cooking becomes 'choose your own adventure'! Either, you can stop at this point, pop your fadge on a plate, slather them with Nuttelex, and eat them straight away (as I do - because I'm impatient), or you can continue on to step 4 and make them the traditional way (which is also absolutely delicious but takes a few minutes more).

4. Heat a little Nuttelex in a frying pan. Fry the fadge until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towel and serve hot.

Happy eating! :)

French onion soup recipe

For Christmas I asked for a food processor and when I unpacked the beautiful thing, I found that at the back of the instruction manual was a whole section of recipes! Score! Double present! I thought to myself, and hastily cut out the recipes I liked. This soup recipe is the first one I have made and it's fantastic, especially for an instruction manual! Unfortunately I have to say that I didn't have any brandy on hand, so I can't say how good it would be with that added. However, I'm sure it would only add to the deliciousness and plan to use it next time!

Serves 2-3

4 large onions (about 1kg)
50g Nuttelex
1tsp olive oil
1 tbsp brown sugar
50ml brandy
750ml vegetable stock
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs thyme

1. Using the slicing attachment of the food processor, thinly slice all the onions. If you don't have a food processor to do your slicing for you (and give you delicious recipes), then you'll have to cut them in halves or quarters and slice them thinly by hand, you poor thing.

2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat the Nuttelex and oil, then add the onion. Cook until onion is golden brown.

3. Add the brown sugar and brandy and cook off for 5 minutes.

4. Add the stock, balsamic vinegar, bay leaves, and thyme, and simmer over a low heat for 30 minutes.

5. Fish out bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Serve.

Happy eating! :)

What I'm eating: pasta with butter and cheese

When I was a child, one of my favourite meals was "pasta with butter and cheese" (just as complex as it sounds!) and the other day I had a real hankerin' for it again! I revisited my old culinary delight in a new form: "pasta with Nuttelex and nutritional yeast". Sure, it doesn't really have the same ring to it, but boy was it good! This old favourite has just become relevant again!

If you have children, you can rest assured that this meal has very little nutritional value. However, they will eat it. You win some, you lose some eh?

Happy eating! :)

A question worth contemplating

I have recently learnt of Edgar's Mission farm sanctuary, located in Victoria, and the fantastic question they pose to society:

"If we could live happy and healthy lives without harming others, why wouldn't we?"

That, in one sentence, is what veganism is all about! And an excellent question to pose to non-vegans. I'm going to store it away in my brain for the next time someone asks "so why are you vegan?" It's definitely my philosophical gem of the week!

A big apology to everyone who has commented on this blog!

Oh dear, I've made a boo-boo. I've accidentally deleted every comment on this blog! I thought I was just deleting them from the list, not actually DELETING them. I am so sorry to everyone who has left comments for me! It wasn't personal, I loved hearing from you all very much.

Please do comment again, I promise I won't delete it next time!

*sigh* Oh well, live and learn...

Golden Lentils and Rice Recipe

We have recently started making this recipe from Beverly LeBlanc's The Student Vegetarian Cookbook and it's fabulous because 1) it's easy, making it great for midweek dinners; and 2) apart from an onion, the ingredients are all things that are always in our pantry. The only downside is soaking the rice for half an hour, though this is only a problem because I always forget about that part so dinner always ends up half an hour later than intended! If you can remember about soaking the rice, you'll be fine.

Serves 2

125 g long grain rice
1 onion, diced
2 tbsp sunflower or canola oil
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
125g red lentils
450ml vegetable stock

1. Put the rice in a sieve and rinse under cold water until the water runs clear. Tip the rice into a bowl, cover with fresh cold water and leave to soak for 30 minutes. Drain.

2. Over medium-high heat, heat the oil, then add the onion and stir for 3-5 minutes until soft.

3. Stir in the curry powder, turmeric, and salt. Add the rice and lentils and continue stirring until the rice looks translucent.

4. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Stir once, reduce heat to low, cover, and leave to cook - without lifting the lid - for 15 minutes. The surface should be covered with small indentations.

5. Re-cover and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Fluff using a fork and then serve.

Happy eating! :)

Peasant pasta recipe

I worked with an Italian lady who said that this kind of pasta is known as 'peasant food'. Though very simple, I find that this is a lovely way to enjoy pasta (and very good to make when food stocks are running low!).

Serves 2

2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic
Large handful of continental parsley, chopped
Cooked spaghetti for 2

1. Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan. Crush the garlic with the flat side of a knife and fry in oil until golden, taking care not to burn it. Remove from heat and discard garlic.

2. Drain the spaghetti and return to the pot. Pour over warm olive oil in small batches, mixing between, until pasta is nicely coated but not dripping with oil.

3. Throw in the parsley and mix until combined.

Happy eating! :)

What I'm eating: a touching farewell present

I recently left my job in child care and one of my colleagues, who is himself moving toward a more animal-friendly diet, gave me a very thoughtful farewell present. LINDA MCCARTNEY COUNTRY PIES! I have always bought them online and, being a poor student, have only had them as a special treat. My colleague has informed me though, that the Foodland on Glen Osmond Road, Frewville, sells them and many other Linda McCartney products! So if you're in Adelaide and want a box of tasty pies, you now know where to look!

Anyway, I was very touched by this lovely farewell present. As such, I ate the pies for dinner that night with chips and sauce, in front of the TV. The way a pie is supposed to be eaten.

Happy eating! :)

Homemade muesli recipe

I love pottering around in the kitchen on the weekend with the lovely smell of baking muesli wafting through the air and that feeling you get in your heart when you're being all crafty and self-sufficient(ish). I also love knowing what's going into my food. Most muesli is packed with sugar, coated in honey, and surprisingly lacking in fibre. Not so when you make it with this recipe! Not only is this muesli delicious but it is extremely fibrous. This is of course good for your bowels but I must warn you, it's only good for them if you drink plenty of water! So eat up, then drink up!

6 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup dessicated coconut
1 cup wheat germ
2 cups bran (NOT bran flakes or pellets, just plain wheat bran)
1/3 cup oil
2/3 cup golden syrup
1 cup chopped dried apricots
1 cup chopped dried apples
1 cup chopped dried prunes

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.

2. In a large bowl, mix oats, seeds, coconut, wheat germ, and bran until well combined.

3. Stir in the oil, then the golden syrup.

4. Bake muesli in a large, deep, baking tray for 20 minutes, stirring twice. It should be golden in colour.

5. Leave to cool, then add dried fruit and stir to combine. Store in an airtight container.

Happy eating! :)

Sweet and sour chicken recipe

Sweet and sour was something I'd always disliked, until I gave this recipe from No Meat and Three Veg a try. Wow. While it takes a little while to prepare, the finished product is well worth it! As Jeff said, "A++, would eat again", I totally agree with him. The whole time we were eating it we just couldn't stop raving about how delicious it was! I also took leftovers to work for lunch the next day and it was just as good.

Happy eating! :)

What I'm eating: kiddie ice-cream

Those who know me personally will know that in many respects I am just a large child. I also work in early childhood so most of my friends are under five years old. My childishness also extend to my food choices. For example, ice-cream is awesome at any time of the day. Especially chocolate ice-cream. With LOTS of chocolate topping. And rainbow sprinkles.

Go on, live life on the child side.

Happy eating! :)

What I'm eating: Asian take-away

There is an excellent dine-in/take-away Asian restaurant called Vegetarian Delight (details under the tab labelled 'places I like to eat in Adelaide'). The place is like mock-meat heaven and everything is delicious. We recently got a (large!) take-away order for them and pigged out in front of the TV - because sometimes those things just have to be done.

Here (clockwise from top) you can see beef and black bean, satay tofu, samosa, honey chicken, special fried rice, and prawn crackers. A mighty feast!

Happy eating! :)

What I'm eating: pizza on toast

Some days you feel like something yummy and relatively healthy but you just don't feel like doing much cooking. Enter pizza on toast. Pizza on toast is a concept I came up with as a starving teenager, constantly searching the house for more food to fuel my growth and with little consideration as to how odd the combinations of ingredients might seem to others. Basically, pizza on toast is: toast, topped with tomato paste, then grilled with whatever pizza-like toppings you can find (including tinned corn when I was in said starving teenager stage).

My latest pizza on toast experience involved dried 'Italian herbs', capsicum, pineapple, tomato, and nutritional yeast. Mmmm...

Happy eating! :)

Cheater's sausage roll recipe

Until recently I worked at a child care centre; this recipe was shared with me by the chef there who made these sausage rolls for vegetarian children. I will never make (healthier) sausage rolls from scratch again. I have tested these on children myself and also on meat eaters and all agree that they are awesome!

The recipe uses regular Sanitarium vegetarian sausages, which I normally detest as they are rubbery and have a strange flavour, instead I always buy the fancier Sanitarium sausages. However, the cheap crappy sausages work wonderfully in this recipe! Do not use nice, fancy sausages as your sausage rolls will turn out horribly.

Serves as many as you like

Sanitarium vegetarian sausages
Frozen puff pastry (check the ingredients for butter)

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (or whatever it says on your pastry packet)

2. Thaw pastry according to packet instructions.

3. Wrap sausages in pastry.

4. Bake until golden.

Happy eating! :)

Savoury muffin recipe

I discovered the recipe for these little gems here on an excellent blog called No Meat and Three Veg. I really love this blog and as well as having heaps of yummy, quick, and easy vegan recipes, it's also Australian so all the ingredients are easy to source.

These muffins are similar to quiche in many respects and are great for lunches or picnics. They are amazingly tasty but what would you expect from a recipe modified from Play School? I won't post the recipe here as you can find it on the link above. I do make some changes though when I make them; firstly, I use a small tin of corn rather than corn on the cob, secondly, I use regular white vinegar rather than apple cider vinegar, and lastly, sometimes I don't use fresh herbs. The only reason for these changes is that is suits my individual pantry and shopping habits.

I highly recommend you pop on over to No Meat and Three Veg, I know I have a few more recipes from there waiting to be tried out!

Happy eating! :)

What I'm eating: hot cocoa

While reading a book about the history of Cadburys, I really got into cocoa. I don't think I'd ever actually had cocoa as a drink before but now I'm hooked. I started making it with cooking cocoa because that's the closest match to the cocoa that was being drunk in my book, rich, fatty, and with no added sugar or other agents to help it combine with the milk. Wow, I love it! You get these nice little creamy lumps of cocoa and I love that it's not sickly sweet unlike many hot chocolate mixes. I must admit, I was even drinking this in the height of summer. Now that the weather's getting cooler, it makes my cocoa addiction seem less insane.

Happy drinking! :)

What I'm eating: Linda McCartney sausage rolls

As mentioned in my last post, for Christmas I received a voucher for The Cruelty Free Shop. One of the things we bought with that voucher was Linda McCartney sausage rolls. Being a massive, bordering-on-obsessive fan of Linda McCartney country pies (as mentioned in this post and this post), I had high hopes for this product.

I was not let down.

All I can say is yuuuuuuuummm! Yum yum yum yum yum! Mouthgasm.

I actually did a little happy dance while sitting on the lounge eating these and watching Chuck. They are that good.

As good as the country pies? Hmmm... maybe not. But sausage rolls are never as good as pies are they? These are the perfect sausage rolls. Serve them up to even the fussiest meat eaters (children) and I bet they will love them too.

I wish I had more right now. I'd have them for breakfast.

Having now tried more than one product, I can safely say that Linda McCartney goes down on this blog as a Cool Company!

Happy eating! :)

What I'm eating: calamari with lemon and thyme quinoa

For Christmas a very thoughtful relative gave me a voucher for The Cruelty Free Shop which we happily spent on foods that we have not seen here in Adelaide (some old favourites and some new things to try). One of the things we bought was a box of Just Green Calamari. Being summer, we thought it would be lovely to have with some salad one hot evening.

Well, the other day I decided the time was right. I made a delicious rainbow salad of mixed baby salad leaves, tomato, cucumber, grated carrot, corn, and chopped walnuts, with an olive oil, lemon juice, and cracked pepper dressing. I also decided to cook a packet of Celebrate Health Lemon and Thyme Quinoa (it's very easy, just add water, simmer for 10 minutes, then leave to sit for 5 minutes). I thought this was something I'd never had before but then it ended up tasting quite familiar so I think maybe I have had it once before. This packet had been sitting in my pantry for quite a while, waiting for the right accompaniment. I believe my mum bought it for me in Woolworths or Coles.

Then I excitedly got out the calamari. I looked over the packet for the cooking instructions. Unfortunately, my eyes found the ingredients. Ingredient #1: algae gum. What the?! Yuck! Well, I told myself, I'm sure it tastes delicious anyway. So I cooked it up and served a very mouth-watering looking meal. I ate the salad, refreshing and interesting. I ate the quinoa, awesome! I ate the calamari. It tasted fine I guess, but my mind kept saying over and over "Algae gum. Algae gum. You're eating algae..." I ended up having to force it down and I felt a little nauseous afterwards, though I know that was entirely psychological. Jeff, who I had told about the ingredients but would eat anything, said it tasted fine.

There was one more serving left in the packet so I decided to put the algae gum to the back of my mind and give the calamari another shot at lunch the next day. Nope. Once again, as I was chewing, the image of slimy, smelly, algae filled my mind again. I couldn't eat it. So sorry if you were planning on eating and enjoying Just Green Calamari in blissful ignorance, unaware of the main ingredient. I'm sure that If I hadn't known what was in it I would have liked it. On the other hand, if you're like Jeff and eating algae gum doesn't phase you, then I'm sure you'll enjoy this product!

On the plus side, the quinoa was brilliant. I definitely recommend it!

And I made a rockin' salad.

Happy eating!