brown rice salad

I think I should rename this super foods salad. It has so much goodness it's ridoink. Not to mention it's quick to make and amazingly delicious. I make a batch of this on the weekend and take it for my lunch over the next couple of days. It gets better as it gets older because the sultanas (or cranberries) plump up with the moisture. It's riffing on the same theme as all my other salads, that's because there is a method to my madness. Protein, carbohydrates and the 5 tastes. YUM YUM.

ingredients
1 cup brown rice, cooked (yields about 2 cups)
1 tin brown lentils, rinsed
1 tin butter beans (or chickpeas), rinsed
1/4 cup sultanas
1/2 cup almonds, roughly chopped
a small handful of parsley, roughly chopped
1 small carrot, diced finely
1 tbsp of shredded seaweed
1/4 small spanish onion, finely diced
pinch of salt

method
1. Combine! I finish it in many ways, sometimes just with sesame or olive oil. Other times with kecap manis. At the moment I am sprinkling with Maldon smoked sea salt and lemon olive oil (OMG AMAZING).

giveaway - hemp foods prize pack

Please welcome my newest advertiser Hemp Foods! Available to win in this comp is a 250gm bag of hemp seeds, a tub of hemp protein powder (it's also RAW!) and a copy of the Modern Introduction to Hemp book (will be a paperbook).

You guys are probably way more versed with hemp seeds than I am. Sometimes I feel like the worst vegan ever! Anyway there is loads of information on the wonders of hemp seeds on their website. To win please post a comment with you contact details (carla[dot]sammut[at]gmail[dot]com so spam bots dont pick you up!) by Tuesday the 28th, midday! Good luck!

*sozz bubs Aussie residents only

iku yakitori - brunswick

hiyayakko tofu - cold tofu with spring onion, ginger, soy and chilli powder $5

eggplant yakitori skewers ($5 maybe?)

mushroom yakitori skewers ($5 maybe?)

Iku is on the end of my street though I've only been there once in the 4 years I've been living in Brunswick. The one time I went there I thought the food was good but was not good value for money. With a 40 minute wait for food at the Union (wtf?!) we took a punt and had a meal at Iku. I wasn't that hungry so I only got a few small plates. The service was great, friendly and around. The food was delicious! Especially the yakitori (obvs it's what they specialise in). I look forward to going back there more often, especially as they have a proper vegetarian banquet option and there is surprisingly few places to have dinner in walking distance from my house.

deets: 139 Sydney Road, Brunswick web: iku yakitori
$$: I'm pretty sure my 3 dishes were $15 total

other voices, other times:
veggie friendly (2006)

*sozz bubs for phone pics xx

monday melbourne roundup

I had a pretty quiet week by my standards. No theatre, no music, no going out just a couple of meals out and some staying at home. I've had my brother staying with me for the past week who's needed a bit of TLC so I've been staying in as much as possible.

I hit the usuals of purple peanuts and miss marmalade. I went back to cutler and co for a very special meal, more on that later then afterwards we all went to luwow for a drink. I've been to loads of tiki bars all over the US and this one is actually not too bad. The drinks weren't great though. There is so few places that do excellent cocktails in Melbourne.

I guess the biggest secret/surprise is.. I thought I would try tom phat again to see if it's improved and IT HAS. My meal was cooked well, I didn't like the flavours but it was good enough for me to go back from breakfast on Sunday and the tofu scramble was really REALLY good. The menu has changed slightly to accommodate the new chef but it works. Looking forward to hitting it up more soon.

Whats news with you hep-cats? Go any recipes, websites or restaurants you've been loving? Anywhere in the world doesnt have to be Melbourne!

biggest love xx Carla

melbourne vegan bus tours

This is such a FREAKING AMAZING IDEA - OTHER CITIES TAKE NOTE AND MULTIPLY THE CONCEPT!!!

What: Vegan bus tour around Melbourne, starting in Elwood at 9am with stalls from ALV, Uproar and Vegan Style Shoes. Then onto Urban Sanctuary for a tour and introduction to the rescue animals. Then shopping at many different vegan friendly stores with lunch at Las Vegan. The tour finishes back at Elwood at 5pm.

When: Sunday 26th February ugh is postponed due to illness - get better soon Tanya!!
Where: Starting and finishing at 2A Spray st, Elwood (there is parking in the surrounding streets if you can't get it in Spray st).

How much: $60 (includes lunch at Las Vegan) payment can be made by direct debit to Uproar Inc
BSB: 633000
Account number: 135468056 (use your name and bus tour as reference)

Notes from Tanya the organiser: We are visiting a few places that have frozen foods so bring along a cooler! The calzone options are below (part of out wonderful lunch at Las Vegan) if you could please email me with your preferred choice once you have secured your place via payment via Tanya@livingvegan.com.au

Cajun Eggplant, Vegan mince and mushroom, Mushroom and tomato (breakfast), Ham, cheese and tomato, Ham, cheese and pineapple, Italian potato with olives, Chili non carne (chili bean and mince).

Any questions or concerns please contact me at any time!Looking forward to a fun day!!"

I have to say I think I saw God when I ate the "hawaiian" calzone at Las Vegan. Looks like a super fun day. GET ONTO IT.

garagistes - hobart

the large, cavernous space

wood-grilled reine de france lettuce hearts with soaked currents and puffed spelt ($14)

grilled young leek with French beans and toasted quinoa ($18)

confit kipfler potatoes, pea tendrils and flowers($19)

You keeners may remember I headed down to Hobart a couple of weeks ago to go to MONA and FOMA and basically frolic my way around Story Book Village (it's what I call Hobart). After having a huge day at MONA I hit my hotel got changed and met up with Liz (and her partner Jeremy) and Cindy and Michael for a very exciting nom fest at Garagistes.

Garagistes is the breathless (not really new) darling on the Australian dining scene, opened by Luke Burgess (ex Noma) and his partners Katrina Birchmier and Kirk Richardson. The menu is extremely interesting, the wine list mainly French. I would have to say I think I had the wrong idea from the get go of Garagistes, I had heard it was very Noma influenced, foraged based and the menu changed daily. So I was assuming it to be 'hyper local' which is why I was disappointed by the wine list (though my stomach wasn't).

That wrong idea also extended to the food. With a no bookings policy and being strongly recommended by previous diner Lisa Dempster to just show up and receive the magic I had much higher expectations than was delivered. Again, not Garagistes' fault though I did contact them via twitter and Liz emailed to give the heads up that a vegan was coming in on the day. It was a complete surprise to them when I mentioned it so I guess communication fail. Perhaps a phone call next time.

Having said all that for a restaurant of this calibre I expected more than just meals with the non vegan ingredients removed. The food however was astounding, absolutely delicious but I did kind of have that cheated feeling, especially when I did try to contact them in two different ways. So either this is how they cater for vegan diners (that's fine it just doesn't suit me) or they would do things differently if they had better notice. Either way the next time I'm in Hobart I will definitely go back.

Garagistes is an experience beyond the food (as you can tell we were already pished and too engrossed to remember to take photos of the second dish), the space is huge and not crammed in with diners. Everything is served at a leisurely pace with magic genie service the whole way. We all had a great meal with great wine, my eating buddy Garret and I walked out paying $80 each with a bottle of wine between us so you can't say it's expensive by any stretch of the imagination (and Garret had 2 other small dishes). Garagistes, I'm looking forward to a return trip!

ps: Kylie Kwong was eating at the bar. I almost hyperventilated THE ENTIRE TIME.

deets: 103 Murray st, Hobart Tasmania web: garagistes
$$: $160 for 3 medium and 2 small dishes and a bottle of wine

other voices, other times:
where's the beef - documented our meal from the vegetarian side
rita's bite
foodtrail
reminiscence of a food tragic
redheaded travels

monday melbourne roundup

Back to school, back to board meetings. It's ALL ON folks. My two subjects I'm doing this semester are going to be demanding, in the way that most of my assessment is IN class so I have to go all the time (I generally go only 2/3rds of the time). It's funny how ingrained behaviour is, I'm so used to giving myself treats to go to school I haven't had a diet coke in 2 months but as soon as I went back BOOM. And DAMN it was good.

I even ate Lord of the Fries twice this week. It's only February 13th and so much for my year of never eating it again!I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Mexican sauce. I'm just so into fake meat at the moment especially veaty bites I LOVE THAT SHIT. Soy mock meat. I also got my Lord on because I saved myself for Mad Mex this week and it was really disappointing... really bland. SAD FASE.

I also of course have been getting a fair bit of takeaway from Purple Peanuts and I went and checked out new bar du jour The Bishop of Ostia (freaking amazing). All in all a busy week but I managed to keep out of trouble and catch up with a few friends.

What's going on with you guys? Eaten anywhere amazing lately? Please tell me!

out.
good people - red stitch
my review up on milkbar magazine

advertise on easy as vegan pie

I've got some very exciting news, like some of my other blogging friends Hannah, Cindy and Michael I've been asked to be an SBS featured foodie.

So in preparation for that I'm offering 3 months for the price of 2 on advertising. That's $100 for 3 months of advertising. The SBS food newsletter gets distributed to 80,000 people and I will also be featured on their website. It's a perfect time to get your message out there!

Also I got a bit tired of chasing organisations, but I also free space to animal rescue/advocate organisations please be in contact if you want FREE ADVERTISING!!

This offer must be booked and paid by the 29th of February. For more information on advertising on EAVP check out the page.

WINNER - sjaaks valentines chocolate - the vegan store

Congratulations Eloise! I have forwarded your details to the Vegan Store, they will be in touch to get your address. Thanks to everyone for entering! Whether you choose to ignore V-Day or celebrate it I hope you have a good one!

travel tips - domestic

As you’re all probably aware I travel, a lot. I mean I have major itchy feet. I fly on average once a month and do one major overseas trip a year. I’ve been travelling on my own since I was 18 years old and my wanderlust has never ceased, if anything it’s gotten worse. Here are my tips for travelling domestically, the main crux of it is spending as LITTLE time at airports as possible:

1. Carry on is all you need domestically, even for weeks away. Buy a hard case carry on bag with 360 degree rotating wheels. Seriously. My life has changed a million percent since I bought a proper suitcase. The rotating wheels means you can do anything with it, squeeze through any isle/stupid barricade. I got mine on special at Kmart for $60. Best money I *ever* spent. Don’t fill it to the brim, as if you are like me, you will be bringing shopping home.

2. Check in online and choose your seat. Especially if you travel alone a lot you don’t want to get stuck in the middle. I always choose second last row, aisle seat as the last row has little to no baggage storage. Being at the back of the plane you are the first to get off (flying Virgin). Yeah you’ve got to walk on the tarmac but who cares. Also even if you don’t have a printer STILL CHECK IN and when you get to the airport go up to customer service (not flight check in) and ask them to print your boarding pass. Get to the airport 40 minutes before your flight is scheduled to leave that way you just walk on your plane.

3. Suss out hardcore travellers and walk in their slipstream. They clear the way for you and are efficient, especially in security. Avoid the elderly, families and the infirmed. Get into the secure area as quick as you can and then you can relax.

4. In that vein get your security check stuff sorted out. Don’t wear studded belts (ugh I do this ALL the time), don’t travel with your laptop, pull out your umbrella, take off your hat and get all your pocket stuff into that tray.

5. Don’t drink the coffee at ANY airport.

6. Same goes for food, it’s all terrible. Vegetarian sushi is usually your best (and most of the time only) bet. Don’t buy ANYTHING at the airport $5 for a mount franklin bottle of water just makes me explode.

7. Take snacks with you. Barely anywhere outside of Melbourne is vegan friendly (without lots of proper planning first). I always have a packet of Soyco satay tofu in my bag and some gluten free vegan fruit bars. They feed you in a pinch and give you some time so you can figure out where you can eat your next meal. Hobart has quarantine so don’t take fruit there.

8. Be super nice to all airline staff, they have a really shitty job sometimes.

9. If a parent is travelling alone with a baby and you’re ok with babies and they need help - offer. Sometimes just being able to go to the toilet on your own is the craziest luxury a solo parent could ever have.

10. Get a good frequent flyer program and mine it for all it’s worth. I have enough points to fly to London return business class. That’s going to come in handy one day. I’m not going to be rich all my life.

11. Get into an airport drop off/pick up routine with other people who are also frequent flyers.

12. Clean the house before you go, there is nothing nicer than coming back to a clean house and a freshly made bed (seriously, it's made me cry sometimes after a horrendous trip). Separate all your dirty clothes before you fly home (or better yet if you can, do all your washing and drying) so they're ready to be chucked into the wash/hung up when get home. If you're super organised have a few cooked meals in the freezer so you have lunch and dinner the next day. There is nothing more awesome than being able to come home after work the next day and not have to do ANYTHING.

What are your travel tips?