In Conspiracy with Seitan

Pancakes

2010-06-16T01:10:00.001-07:00

Mikel and I have been devouring warm stacks of pancakes with maple for pretty much every meal. Total fiends. Aside from that, my cooking has been pretty boring lately - stir fries, soups, and a little take-away due to exam stress, etc. Winter holidays soon though.

I want to make lots and lots of hearty winter pies from scratch, both sweet and savoury. I've been craving an apple and vanilla pie, with lots of ice cream and cinnamon. Recipe suggestions? x

2010-04-20T03:54:00.000-07:00

Pip and I made a devilish blueberry pie, using the recipe handed down by Kriss Hades of Sad Ex. Read about it here!

Brownie Worship

2010-04-05T15:12:00.000-07:00

Last night we had Murdoch and Jade over to watch 'Near Dark' and feast. I made some damn good lasagne, but forgot to take a photo before it had been half-demolished, as you do. So onto dessert, which I did photograph:

Mint, walnut & white chocolate brownies.
These dirty little heathen treats were devastatingly good - rich, soft, chewy, etc. I found the brownie recipe in 'Hot Damn and Hell Yeah: The Dirty South Cookbook' - a book with some pretty excellent illustrations and Mexican recipes.

"Mighty Chewy Brownies"
3/4 c. Nuttelex
1 2/3 c. granulated sugar
2 T. water
2 egg substitutes
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 c. cocoa
1 1/3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

I also added some chopped pumpkin seeds, 3/4 cup white chocolate chips, and 1/2 tsp. of peppermint extract.

- Stir butter, sugar, and water together in a medium bowl, and add No Egg and extracts.
- In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients, except nuts and chips, mixing well.
- Gradually stir the cocoa into the sugar, then fold in the nuts and chocolate.
- Spread batter into a baking tray, and bake for 20-25 mins.

The Green Edge

2010-04-02T22:44:00.000-07:00

Jade took me out to the Green Edge in Enoggera today - the only all-vegan grocery store (to my knowledge) in Brisbane. The 10-15 minute bus ride out of the city is well worth it. I spent almost $50 on pepperoni, Cheezly, Tofutti mozzarella, white chocolate chips, schnitzels, and all of the stuff that this city is lacking! They also gave me free chai upon arrival and a $10 gift voucher. So killer!

Shop 3/191 Wardell Street, Enoggera

Details: http://www.greenedgeonline.com.au/

Please support this store if you can!

2010-03-21T20:10:00.000-07:00

Mikel, Lena and I cooked up a candelit feast for seven last night. I made my favourite savoury pumpkin pie with Mikel the Pastry Lord's help, and Lena whipped up a delicious roast vegetable salad, hot flat bread and falafels!

2010-03-06T04:22:00.000-08:00

I haven't had internet in a long, long, long time! I've also been ridiculously busy. I promise to start posting again soon...

2010-02-03T01:57:00.000-08:00

Mushroom and pea risotto w/ roasted pumpkin and asparagus

Firstly, apologies for the shitty quality of this photo. I had to use a webcam, as I am without a camera for a couple of days. Hopefully you get the idea!

My mother taught me how to make risotto, and it is easily my favourite food. This recipe is flavoured by a lot of wine, the mushrooms, and of course stock. The result is a creamy, delicious dish.

I found the method a little hard to write out as it involves a lot of testing and "best judgment," along with constant stirring, as all risotto-makers know! I tried though! Serves 8-10 people.

Ingredients:
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 pumpkin (chopped into bite-size pieces)
2 cups of mushrooms
Small bunch of asparagus
1½ cups frozen peas
2 cups of arborio rice
Sauvignon blanc
1 litre vegetable stock
¾ cup of olive oil (for roasting and sautéing)
2 tbsp soy sauce

- Preheat oven to 180°c. Place the pumpkin on a baking tray, lightly cover in olive oil, and bake until tender and crisp.
- In a large pot on medium heat, sautée the onion & garlic in olive oil until brown. Stir the arborio rice into the onion, cooking for 1 minute.
- Turn the heat up to high, adding 500g of stock to the rice and stirring until absorbed. Add the other 500g and repeat. Do not stop stirring. Ever.
- Now, add 2 cups of water to the rice. Once the water has absorbed, repeat this step.
- Add about a 1/4 bottle of wine & the frozen peas.
- Keep adding water until the rice is about 3/4 cooked, then add the mushrooms & soy sauce.
- Add more wine (according to taste) or water, until all of the liquid is absorbed, and the rice is really creamy
- Let the pot sit for about 5 minutes, and steam the asparagus.
- Serve the risotto on top of the roast pumpkin, garnishing with asparagus, fresh parsley and pepper.

Feeding the family

2010-01-29T02:40:00.000-08:00

I'm visiting my family on the Sunshine Coast at the moment, and enjoying cooking for them. This afternoon, I baked my little brother some after-school cookies, which he hailed! I also made some herb-stuffed mushrooms with salad for dinner.

Chocolate & walnut cookies

These cookies are quite chewy/soft, and have a nice "nutty" taste, for lack of a better word.

2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup softened Nuttelex
¾ cup white sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond essence
No Egg for 2 eggs
1 cup chopped walnuts
2½ cups Sweet William chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 190°c. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the flour, soda & salt. In a larger bowl, beat the Nuttlex, the white & brown sugars, the vanilla, and the almond essence. Next, add the "no eggs" one at a time, beating well. Gradually beat the flour mixture into the wet mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Bake on paper for 8 to 10 minutes.

Capsicum-and-herb-stuffed mushrooms

I altered the seitan-and-herb-stuffed mushroom recipe in Vegan with a Vengeance. As my meat-eating family is afraid of all mock meat, I replaced the seitan with red capsicum. I also doubled the spices and lemon zest. These mushrooms were quite filling and very tasty. I do, however, prefer the stuffed mushrooms in this book. Argh, they're so good.

Potluck

2010-01-24T21:39:00.000-08:00

Mikel and I attended a vegan potluck at a nearby park today. As always, we stuffed ourselves past the point of piggery. My friend Jade baked these amazing raspberry, white chocolate, and green tea cupcakes. She also brought along four different types of mini cheeseburgers! Jemma served up some killer tabouli. Keiran used the woodfire oven to cook some "cheese" and "sausage" pizzas.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos at the park, as I was too busy being gluttonous! I did take some photos of our contributions to the potluck though:

Oreo cupcakes
The recipe for these cakes can be found on page 37 of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. For me, cookies and cream-esque baked goods reign supreme over all others!

Asparagus and sun-dried tomato frittata
I found this dish in my recently-acquired copy of Vegan with a Vengeance. Many people have recommended this cookbook to me, and I'm glad that I chose the frittata as my first recipe. I was really happy with the soft, egg-like texture of the tofu, and the aromatic combination of flavours. I'll be favouring this killer recipe over the conventional scrambled tofu!

2010-01-24T03:31:00.000-08:00

I enjoy cooking and baking above most other things; especially when friends, wine and records are involved. This is my first attempt at a food blog. All of my posts will document vegan dishes, as that's my diet of choice. I hope, however, that meat-eaters won't feel too disregarded. I'm sure that carcass can accompany most recipes, if that's what gets you salivating. x