Vegan Laksa! STAPLE

I LOVE a good laksa but it's hard to find a really good one in Perth, particularly a vegan one! Thankfully we found this stellar recipe on The Everyday Veggie that we just love and this meal has become a staple in out weekly menu :D

Everyday Veggie Laksa Paste Recipe

You’ll need:
(Makes enough to feed 8 )
3 red chillies
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 white onion, chopped
2 lemongrass stalks, white part only, chopped
3cm piece galangal, peeled and chopped
1 small handful cashew nuts
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 tbsp lime juice

Method:
Heat the coriander, paprika, cumin and turmeric in a pan for several minutes until fragrant
Place the spices in a blender or food processor with all other ingredients and blend into a fine paste
Place into an airtight container, ready for use!

Everyday Veggie Laksa Recipe

I’ve been a little vague on the amount of tofu and rice noodles, as for me, this is very subjective. I love rice noodles and shove them in there like there’s no tomorrow, but I hang back a little on the tofu. You can either use those pre-fried tofu blocks you get in Asian grocery stores, or you can fry your own up before you start cooking; no matter, they both work great!

You’ll need:
(Feeds 4)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
4 tablespoons Vegan Laksa Paste 
3 cups veg stock
2 cups full-fat coconut milk
1 cup water
1 large head broccoli, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
enough fried tofu blocks for 4
enough dried rice noodles to feed 4
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 large handful bean sprouts
4 spring onions, sliced
1/2 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves
slices of lime

Method:
Heat the sesame oil in a large wok, and fry the Laksa Paste until it is fragrant
Add in the coconut milk, water and veg stock and stir well
Add the broccoli and carrot into the mixture, and cook on high until mostly tender; about 5-10 minutes
While cooking, place the rice noodles in a bowl of hot water. If you’re using thicker noodles, heat them in a small pan over a medium heat
Add in the tomato and tofu blocks, and stir well
Stir in the brown sugar
When the noodles are soft and the vegetables are tender, divide the noodles out between the 4 bowls
Ladle the soup onto the noodles, diving it between the bowls
Top each soup with bean sprouts, spring onions, mint leaves and coriander, and serve with 2 slices of lime

The great thing, to me, about Laksa is that you can change it so much to suit your own taste. For example, I like my Laksa a little more limey, so I tend to throw a little lime in there with the coconut milk. If you prefer it thicker, you could leave out the water and replace it with coconut cream. The possibilities are endless.

You can use whatever veggies you want really - our faves are pak choy, kai lan, bean sprouts, broccoli and carrot. The tomatoe and bean sprouts are essential. We add the bean sprouts in at the very end of the cooking process rather than just on top after. And we often use sliced cabbage (along with the bean sprouts) instead of or as well as noodles to make it lower in carbs. Which may make it technically not a laksa, as laksa is usually a Peranakan (Malay and Chinese combo) spicy noodle soup, but whatevs - the sliced cabbage looks like noodles! And tastes better if you ask me. 

We also cheat sometimes and use Five Tastes Thai Red Curry Paste instead of making our own (fresh galangal is super hard to find!! Booooo! Plus it's quicker and easier XD ). We always use Beijing Soyabean products chilli and/or garlic tofu that is ready to use and isn't fried. You can find it in most Coles fridge sections. 

DELISH!!

Burritos!!! STAPLE

Oh yes this blog post is more than just yet another snack option (FINALLY) - it's our favourite meal of the moment *licks fingers* -

BURRITOS!!!

This has several components that you wrap up together - beans, corn salsa, guacamole and Jalepenos :)

You can buy the jalepenos in a jar and find my fabulous guac recipe here.

NADINE'S BEANS

Ingredients

1 brown onion

2-3 cloves of Garlic

1 TBS Olive oil

1tspn ground coriander

1tspn ground Cumin

1tspn chilli powder - adjust to taste

810g tin of chopped tomatoes

1150g (a 400g and a 750g tin) tinned red and/or black kidney beans, drained of their brine

Method 

Cook up the oil, diced onions and garlic until the onion goes transparent. Add the spices and cook until the onions are soft. Add the beans and tomatoes and cook until slightly reduced and perfecto!

CORN SALSA

Ingredients

2 or 3 fresh corn cobs steamed
1 red capsicum diced
1 handful of corriander leaves diced
a third of a cucumber diced
1 spring onion finely chopped
juice of half a lemon
a good dash of olive oil

Method
Cut the corn kernels off the steamed corn cobs into a bowl. Add all other ingredients and mix well.


Use whatever wraps you please to wrap the four elements altogether and CONSUME WITH PLEASURE XD

Alernatively, instead of wrapping it up into a burrito; have a burrito bowl instead - just have these contents in a bowl on their own, or with brown rice, a mexican rice, or corn tortilla chips

Warm tofu salad

Ingredients

2 carrots shaved into strips

125g Bean sprouts

Half a small red cabbage sliced

1 or 2 large pak Choy chopped into chunks

2 200g packets of BJ Garlic or chilli Tofu sliced into small bite size pieces

Marinade ingredients:

Juice of one lemon

2TBS Sweet soy sauce

2TBS Red wine vinegar

2TBS Sweet chilli sauce

1TBS Olive oil

1 large sprig of Corriander diced

1 spring onion finely chopped

2TBS Sesame seeds 

 

Directions

1. Combine the marinade ingredients and adjust amounts to taste. 

2. Heat olive oil in a wok or large pan. Add tofu and marinade and stir/toss for a minute. 

3. Add other ingredients to pan, (adjusting amounts to taste or availability) toss until combined and warm but not properly cooked.

4. Enjoy!!

Raw vegan carrot cake!!

Carrot cake is one of my favourite desserts - being a ranga and a lover of sultanas and pineapple and lemony icings, this only makes sense :D 

So vegan and healthy substitutes are a must and I just found this awesome recipe that I just HAVE to try!! 

RAW CARROT CAKE WITH CASHEW CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

THIS RECIPE IS :Dairy FreeKid-FriendlyRaw Vegan

INGREDIENTS

Cashew frosting

• 2 cups cashews, preferably soaked for a couple hours
• 1-2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons liquid coconut oil
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• Water, as needed

Cake

• 2 large carrots, peeled
• 1 1/2 cups oat flour or buckwheat flour
• 1 cup dates
• 1 cup dried pineapple (or more dates)
• 1/2 cup dried coconut
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

PREPARATION

To make the frosting: blend all ingredients in your high speed blender until smooth, adding as little water as possible. Taste it – mmm. Put in a bowl and set aside.

To make the cake: cut the carrots into small chunks. Then throw all the ingredients (including the carrots) in your food processor and pulse until it’s all in really small pieces and sticks together.

Assembly: Press half the cake mix into the bottom of an adjustable spring-form pan, mine was about 6 inches. Then spread on about 1/3 of the frosting. Put it in the freezer until the layer of frosting is hard. Then press on the rest of the cake mix. I let it set in the fridge overnight, then frosted the whole thing, but you can do it right away if you want. Take it out of the pan and use the remaining frosting, cover with whatever garnishes you like. Enjoy!

Source: http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-food/recipe-raw-carrot-cake-with-cashew-cream-cheese-frosting-2/

MYO Vegan burgers!!

Burgers are a versatile and delicious meal that vegans can enjoy as much as any carnivore! In fact I reckon we can enjoy them more as they're likely healthier and not at the cost for animals' welfare!!

You can really do whatever you like with your burger, even have it deconstructed or bread-less. And you don't need me to tell you your fave ingredients, but I'm going to suggest some options for a preemo vegan burger. 

There are lots of great ready-made vegan burger patties available which are a great, quick and easy option - try them out and find your fave!  Or you can make your own! This is my fave vegan patty recipe;

Chickpea patties (makes 8)

Ingredients
1 brown onion, diced
A dash of olive oil
2 carrots, grated
1 beetroot, peeled & grated
2 400g tins chick peas, drained, washed and mashed
1 Tbsp chia seeds  (ground is best but whole will work too) 
2 Tbsp water
ground salt and pepper to taste

Method
1.       Cook/fry onion in a dash of olive oil
2.       Combine Chia seeds into water and stir well. Leave for 5mins to allow chia to swell and soak up the water.
3.       Combine ingredients well
4.       Fry up like any patty! WOOOP WOOOOP!

This recipe was originally ovo-vegetarian and used an egg to bind it instead of the chia & water which is always an option if you're ovo-vego.

The best thing about burgers is the variety of filling options, including tomato, cucumber, mushroom (cooked or raw), capsicum (cooked or raw), pickles, spinach, lettuce, beetroot (tinned/pickled or grated raw), avocado, grated carrot, vegan coleslaw, tabbouleh, hummus, guacamole, relish and spring or red or caramelised brown onions.

Caramelising onions isn't as hard as is often thought: slice one brown onion, add a Tbsp olive oil and good glug of balsamic vineager (about an eighth or quarter of a cup) and a Tbsp brown sugar all together in a small saucepan with the lid on and slowly cook on a low heat, checking and stirring regularly until it's ALL DELICIOUS LIKE.

So choose your favourite bread option (or don't, or replace it with a wrap if you prefer the bread-less /low carb option) and fillings and put it all together (or don't if you're having it deconstructed!) and ENJOY!

A cheat's chocolate, almond, banana and chai pudding!

What are two things I NEED in my vegan diet? Chocolate and protein!! Hehehe

Well this pudding is easy to make and meets those needs plus is quite nutritious !

2 bananas mashed

2 TBS chia seeds

Half a cup of chocolate almond milk (my fave bend is Almond Breeze) 

Combine and leave in fridge for 4hrs to allow chai seeds to swell. Serve cold. 

Serves 2

You could easily use chocolate soy milk instead if you'd prefer too. 

This gives you all the goodness of bananas (potassium, vitamin B6 & C, Manganese, fibre), chia (protein, fibre, omega 3 & 6, calcium, iron, magnesium, antioxidants, potassium, ) and almond milk (protein, phosphorus, potassium and zinc plus anything it's fortified with) but is simply DELICIOUS and super easy to make!

Of course if you weren't cheating you could use plain almond milk and add your own sweetener (optional as bananas are already sweet) and Raw Cacao which would be even healthier, with it's amazing nutritional benefits of antioxidants and more. But that would change the name of this post! XP

HOLY MOLY GUACAMOLE

This is probably my favourite snack of them all! It's easy but impressive and delicious. The only down side is if Avocadoes are expensive at the time, but it's still worth it if you ask me and is also a good excuse to buy more to enjoy when they're reasonably priced XD

As always, vary to taste or what you have available - essentials are the avo, lemon juice, salt and pepper :)

Dani's Fave Guacamole 

2 Avocadoes mashed

2 Spring Onions sliced finely (or a small amount of finely diced red onion if you prefer but spring is best IMO)

1 ripe tomato diced as small or large as you like it

Juice of half a juicy medium lemon

Pinch of salt

Pinch of pepper

COMBINE as you prepare and serve to share with plain/salt rice crackers or corn chips!! BLISS OUT

I've also enjoyed this on rye toast as a heartier snack or light meal :) it's pretty amazing as an addition to tacos or similar delicious dishes!

EDIT: Or try it in BURRITOS!!!

Alternatively, you could try this spectacular Guacamole recipe!

http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/cooking-tips/article/want-to-make-better-guacamole-step-1