Spinach "Ricotta" Raviolis

Inspired by wonton wrapper fever, I had some spinach about to go bad in the fridge so I decided to make spinach "ricotta" raviolis. Again this made a metric BUTTLOAD so you might want to halve the recipe. Also, as I discovered, you need to freeze them all individually not in one huge clump haha.

Ingredients (recipe from The Voluptuous Vegan)

Stack of fresh wonton wrappers
500 gm of tofu (firm)
3 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp of mellow barley miso
some steamed spinach I used about half a bunch of silverbeet, you going to have to wing the amounts...

Whizz the mixture in a food processor. Voila. Fold into whatever shapes you like. Place into boiling water to cook (make sure they dont stick to the bottom), they take about 2-4 minutes to cook, they are ready when they float to the top of the water. I ate them with a basic red sauce, a recipe I will give you another time. Cindy and Michael posted this awesome you tube video on how to pleat them, here it is:

Vegie Bar - Fitzroy - Melbourne

Ahh the Vegie Bar. I cant ever really say anything bad against you. I do, however pretty much get the same thing every time and its always amazing (I tend to steer clear of their asian dishes, never as good as the real thing). House salad with rice balls, a massive salad of raw vegies, beans/legumes and their brown rice balls with homemade peanut sauce. Bill got my usual winter meal which is the vegie roast with dips. I also always get an immunity juice and I think Bill had the power cleanser. Add a pot of tea and an espresso and we waddled out of there $20 lighter each. Insanely cheap, cheerful meal. I lived on Rose st for a year and I can pretty much bet I ate *something* there everyday. Sit in the window for some amazing people watching (is there an actual 'ugly' person in Fitzroy? I practically window lick when I'm there) or sit in the adjoining room to enjoy the last of the late night summer sunset. Teh hearts my love, the vegie bar.

Deets: 378 Brunswick St Fitzroy, 03 9417 6935 http://www.vegiebar.com.au/
$$: house salad with rice balls, vegie roast with dips, 2x large fresh juices, 1x tea, 1x espresso, $40.20.

cauliflower with almonds, raisins and babies

Smitten Kitchen is my favourite food blog (even though I cant eat much of anything on there anymore), so when Deb posted a recipe that was pretty much vegan I POUNCED, ran home and made it! It was YUMMMMY. I swapped the capers for babies*.

*babies aren't a vegan ingredient.

Recipe here.

Yes! Sushi - Port Melbourne

yuuuuummmmmm. A quick and easy meal. I tried to go to Bowl of Soul but Alina and Shane had to take their dog to the vet (I hope he/shes ok!) so they were closed. Yes! Sushi is my back up. They're the only sushi place I know that does brown rice inari and sushi rolls. All really fresh and yummy.

Deets: 169 Bay St Port Melbourne VIC 3207, Australia +61 3 9681 8885
$$: the seaweed salad, avocado inari and vegetarian handroll was $6.90

Monday Melbourne Roundup

Last week was my final week of total poverty from my trip to the US/Sydney so I didn’t get up to much. Also I'm having a 'controlled' nervous breakdown so I haven't left bed most of the week. Carrie Fisher must have a full on posture pedic bed because my back is fucking killing me.

Eats/Drinks

Baba Leventine

Review here

Out

Book Club

This months book was "Brave New World" - by Aldous Huxley. I had never read it. Thanks for delivering my nightmares to me in such a succinct form. Seriously this is the stuff I dream about, ovum, blood, birth, pregnancy, the apocalypse, the future, robots, sex with robots ( yeah and mainly ALL AT ONCE like dreaming about women giving birth in these burned out, bombed post apocalyptic surgery rooms). Huxley, what a fucking psychedelic guy. Great book. I think its contributing to my breakdown.

Baba Leventine - Brunswick East - Melbourne

I was vegan about 6 years ago for 2 years. And I was full on, militant. I went back to being vegetarian for 3 years, last year I went back to eating fish and calamari to going back to being vegan this year (it all changed when I went snorkelling in Perth and I cried on the beach after watching the fish swim around, I couldnt look them in the eye). I told myself I didn't want to go as militant as I was last time (as I found it really super took away from my enjoyment of life - however things have markedly changed now, vegan food is way more easily accessible out - especially in Melbourne), however knowing myself and what I am like, I put loose parameters around it as if I didn't I would instantly want to rebel against it.

So I've been about 98% vegan since April. Occasionally about once a fortnight through poor planning I wouldn't have breakfast in the house, so I would have a muffin from Greens. Within about 2 months I couldn't do it anymore because the smell of egg was so overpowering it made me gag. I occasionally eat a 'milk coffee' or 'milk arrowroot' biscuit at work, however this trip to Baba Leventine was my first blatant side step from veganism where I ate a feta pumpkin pizza. Man was I SICK. I loved feta SO SO much and it really added nothing to the pizza. I'm glad to have these side steps because now I wont get sad over not being able to have fetta anymore. Its all a learning process.

So Baba Leventine is amazing. I love it there. We ate the beetroot/mint dip with fresh pide and breads (no picture, Clare and I just INHALED it), the roast pumpkin and honey salad (I eat honey - I'm not sure how I feel about the whole bees honey thing, anyone want to change my mind?) and the spinach rice pilaf. The wine was lovely and it was just a class night. The service is lovely if not a little over bearing. Baba is always our backup when we cant get into Rumis (I mean really, who takes bookings these days - so not hot), the new Rumis space looks geigh though so perhaps Baba will be it from now on. Oh and I should add, got 4 or more people and you can do a tasting platter feast, and they can accomodate vegans/vegies and omnis all at the same time. I NEED to do that next time.

Food: a mouthwatering gut stuffing 9/10
Service: friendly but too overbearing didnt give us our $20 change back and assumed it was a tip 7/10
Space: a lovely massive warehouse this is what Seven Seeds should have been like 9/10

Overall: 16.5/20

Deets: No need to book. 80 Lygon Street, Brunswick East, 039380 8534
$$: I have no idea, I got too drunk. So we had 2 bottles of wine, a pumpkin fetta pizza, beetroot dip, pumpkin salad, rice pilaf, Daniel had the lamb special and all three of us have turkish coffee (its really not great dont get it) and 3 pieces of turkish delight. $135.

coconut cream pie with chocolate ganache

and just so we're clear on what kind of tofu you need (its not in the fridge! its in the asian food aisle at the supermarket, you use this for desserts/dressings etc)



Adapted from Real Food Daily by Anne Gentry

ingredients
2 boxes of japanese tofu (soft) and rinsed
1 cup of sweetner
3/4 of coconut milk
1/3 cup of canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp almond extract (I found this too strong so maybe half?)
1/4 tsp sea salt
3/4 shredded coconut

method
1x pie crust (I use a 9 inch pan and I had a wee bit too much filling so use a big crust so you can build up the sides)

Lets talk about the pie crust, I made a wholemeal crust, but I didn’t like it. I am yet to find a vegan, sweet pie crust that I really like. Bueller? So I'll leave the whole issue of a pie crust up to you.

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

2. Blend all the ingredients together with 1/2 cup of the shredded coconut. Spread into your pie case.

3. Bake for 25 minutes then sprinkle the remaining coconut on the top and continue cooking for another 15 mins or longer, until the coconut is toasted. Let sit for at least 20-30 minutes before cutting up and serving (longer is better but as if you can wait for that!). Serve with a big drizzle of ganache!

chocolate ganache
1 block of 70% dark chocolate
Some milk substitute

method
1. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler (or heat it in the microwave) add a bit of milk every now and then until you get a good drizzle consistency. Voi la!

Ps yeah yeah the photos are shit. I'll get it sorted out.

Pumpkin, sage and pecan raviloi with white bean and garlic sauce and frizzled leeks

Recipe directly from The Voluptuous Vegan

This was one of my epic dinner parties, where I think oh yes I'll make all this food, nothing I've ever made before and it will be totally fine and I wont get stressed at all. WRONG (because I served this with coconut cream pie with chocolate ganache as well - recipe to come). Only do this when you have the time. This made a serious BUTTLOAD of raviolis, so you may want to halve the recipe? You can get fresh wonton wrappers in a stack from an asian supermarket in the fridge. Wonton wrappers have been a complete revelation, easy, fresh, vegan pasta!

Ingrediants

1 butternut, halved (you will need 2 cups of cooked squash)
3 tbsp of olive oil
1 onion, finely diced (1 cup)
1/2 cup of chopped pecans
2 tbsp of fresh minced sage
Fresh ground salt and pepper
Wonton wrappers

Roast the pumpkin face down in an oven heated at 350 (I have an old oven so American cookbooks work for me, but that’s about 180 degrees). Bake for 45 minutes or until tender (I found it needed at least an hour but again maybe my ancient oven). Scoop the flesh into a bowl and mash. While its cooking fry up the onion in the oil until they are brown then add the pecans and the sage until heated. Add salt and pepper to taste. Next time I'm going to throw in a teaspoon of maple syrup too, I think this will really bring out the flavours of the pumpkin and the pecans. I then blended the ingredients, the cookbook just uses them as is. I found it was a little too chunky to work with. Put a big teaspoon at the back end of a wonton wrapper and wet the sides with your finger tips (dipped in a bit of water), fold over and press together with a fork. This made approx 40 raviolis, but will probably make more because I was experimenting with wrappers/amounts/folding etc. Cook the raviolis in boiling water for a few minutes, they are done when they float to the top (make sure they're not sticking to the bottom like mine were!).

White Bean and Garlic Sauce

1 tin of butter beans, rinsed
2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
5 sprigs of fresh sage
Handful of fresh thyme twigs
1 bay leaf
2.5 cups of stock
2 tsp of lemon juice
Fresh pepper

Cook the onions in the oil until they are starting to brown, add the garlic and cook a few more minutes. Add the beans and 2.5 cups of stock. Tie herbs together with a string (I didn’t and just fished them out later), bring to a simmer for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to marry. Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Remove the bay leaf and herbs. Ladle over raviolis.

Frizzled Leeks

3 medium leeks
1 tbsp of olive oil (I used way more but that’s because I'm a fatty)

Trim and clean the leeks, cut in half lengthwise then cut into 2 inch pieces, toss in the oil and salt and put in a baking tray in an oven heated to 375. Stir every 5 minutes or so for half an hour until they are brown and crispy. Serve a blob on top of the pasta! This seriously took the dish to the next level.

borscht with dill sour cream

Adapted from The Voluptuous Vegan

ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
2 cups of shredded cabbage
1 bay leaf
3 medium beets, peeled and cubed
1 medium carrot, cut thin into half moons
1 medium potato, cubed slightly larger than the beets
1 can of butter beans or cannelini beans
8 cups of stock
2 tbsp of mirin
2 cups of chopped beet greens or swiss chard or spinach
salt to taste
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

method
1. Cook the onions in the oil until they start to turn brown, add the cabbage and a cup of stock and cook until the cabbage starts to wilt.

2. Add the bay leaf, beets, carrot, potatoes, beans and stock and bring to the boil and simmer on medium heat until the beets/potatoes are tender and cooked (about 20 minutes but test every once in a while).

3. Add the mirin and greens and cook for another 5 minutes. Then put the soup in the blender, I like a chunky, thick borsch so I take out most of the fluid then whizz. I then reserve the beet stock/juice in the freezer for the next time I make borscht.

4. Plate, and sprinkle with some lemon juice and black pepper and a huge dollop of dill sour cream.

Chocolate caramel pie - Tart'n'Round - Thornbury CLOSED

No seriously. Look at that thing. Just look at it. There is rice bubbles in the caramelly part. Clare and I shared this, after brunch at Trippy Taco, there was not much more we could fit in. The food reminded me A LOT (especially the ice cream) of the desserts that used to be a Vegetarian Orgasm (remember that place), turns out it IS the same guy (Mark is his name). I always wondered where he went! I didnt like the ice cream, it has the weird fake 'whipped topping' taste (that was dominant in a lot of the wares at Vegetarian Orgasm), but the cake was outstanding. Seriously. Oh and did I mention gluten free? They also make what looks like a YUMMY range of food. Cant wait to go back there!

deets: 839 High st Thornbury 3071 Ph:9480 0818
$$: cake was $4 plus scoop of icecream $1.80 and coffee was $2 (or $2.50 I cant remember)

Monday Melbourne Roundup

Out

Nothing, it was more like "in". Suffering a bit of the depressed agoraphobia this week, so I had dinner parties instead.

Lost and Found Market

Sucks that its half the size, but what it lost in space it did not lose in quality. I find being there very meditative as I like pretty much everything. I wish I knew what I was doing with my life so I could start buying expensive furniture. There was a couch there that made my heart skip a beat. Best second hand store in Melbourne.

Eats/Drinks

Idea Food and Wine

Review here

Von Haus

Dropped in for a coffee post Idea Food and Wine, favourite place in Melbourne. Its like heroin. Wub you.

Trippy Taco

Review here

Tart n Round

Review here.


La Panella Vegan Bakery

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD. We basically had vegan day on Saturday (see everything above) so we toddled into Preston from Tart n Round to go to La Panella to stock up on frozen goods. Almost.ate.them.all. Thankfully I was so sugared out from Tart n Round that I didn’t buy any donuts this time. I got 2x mushroom pies and 2x sausage rolls for $7. <3 supreme master!

Huevos Rancheros - Trippy Taco - Collingwood - Melbourne

DUUUUUUUUUUDDDDDDDDDDDDDDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

deets: 48 Smith St (03) 9415 7711
$$: Clare and I shared the Huevos Rancheros and were STUFFED $13 (plus $1 I think for vegan), espresso I think was $2?!?!

Szechuan Eggplant - Idea Food and Wine - Melbourne - NOW CLOSED

My ex is a big meaty guy and I wanted to take him out for his birthday. I wanted to take him to one of the more amazing meat places in Melbourne like Giuseppe, Arnaldo and Sons or The Station Hotel, but of course they barely do vegetarian let alone vegan, which is fair enough. So I still wanted to take him to a place that we could both enjoy. Asian food is a happy medium. I had been to Idea Food and Wine on the recommendation of The Melbourne Veg Good Food guide, once before and it was amazing. It was the same experience this time around.

I had the szechuan eggplant hotpot and asian greens, with roti bread and a bit of rice. Seriously that eggplant is one of the most yummy things I've ever eaten. The greens were plain and a little disappointing, the roti was lovely and the rice.. was, well, rice. Adrian had the Szechuan beef and enjoyed it immensely. You probably think its odd that I would try and take him to a steak place for his birthday, but at the end of the day my choices are my choices and everyone's are their own, and my ex enjoys food and wine immensely and eats a shiteload of meat so I wanted to do something for him that he would really enjoy. I don’t believe in pushing my views on other people and it would have been incredibly rude of me to make him go to a vegetarian restaurant for his birthday (something that he would not have enjoyed as much). I could have of course chosen to give him a present that was not paying for meat, but he is a poor student who gets to go out for dinner very little and its his biggest pleasure. Judge me if you will.

Food: A Matt Preston, eye rolling about in my head 9/10
Service: Pristine (point off for being a little over bearing actually) 9/10
Space: A very posh but not too posh and spacious 9/10

Overall 18/20

Deets: Idea Food and Wine: 146-148 Little Bourke St Melbourne 3000 VIC # Phone: (03) 9663 8829
$$: Szechuan Eggplant $19 Rice $2 Roti Bread $5 Tsing Tao $8

sweet potato latkes with dill sour cream

Again apologies for the crap pic, I really need to sort out lighting in my flat. Ok this recipe is really super easy.

ingredients
1x large sweet potato
1x tbsp olive oil
1 x tbsp flour
salt and pepper
0live oil for shallow frying

If you don’t have a food processor get one. I got mine for $50 on ebay and its changed my entire existence in the kitchen. I shredded the sweet potato finely, added the flour/oil/salt and pepper and mix well. The mixture should be wet enough to mould into patties and press down firmly into a heavy bottom pan with a thin layer of hot olive oil (make sure the oil is HOT!). Don’t flip until very very brown! They are hard to keep together, but add a bit more flour if you think you need it to the mixture. Drain on paper towel.

Sprinkle sea salt and pepper on them and serve with a dollop of dill tofu sour cream.

lentil stew

ahh lentil stew. An oldy but a goodie. Total TOTAL pov food, cause I always have a can of tomatoes and some dried lentils in the cupboard.

ingredients
1/2 cup of lentils (I used green lentils, if you use red lentils cook them for half the amount of time)
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 tbsp of tomato paste
1 onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic sliced/diced/minced whatever
1 carrot, diced
1 small glug/splash of balsamic vinegar
1 bay leaf
6 cups of vegie stock (maybe more see how it goes)
1/2 cup of short pasta (gluten free pasta is great in this)
I chuck in a bit of dried oregano but any fresh/dried italian herb would do
some Sriracha because I'm a chili nut

method
1. Fry up the onion and garlic in some olive oil until translucent.

2. Chuck everything except the pasta into the pot and cook for about 20 minutes or until the lentils are just about tender.

3. Add the pasta and cook for another 10 minutes or until it is tender. Yum yum.

4. Serve with a bit of toasted sourdough drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt.

Sourdough Ciabatta

Bread. I'm kind of exhausted by it to be honest, I think I need to take a bread making class. Also I'm sooooooooo sick of the clean up, the mess is unbelievable. I don’t want to turn you off trying to make bread, but it has been SO HARD wrapping my brain around what the hell is going on with it all.

So this is a bizarre recipe that I'm not even going to bother posting because none of you should try it. I kind of got disheartened and gave up on this bread before it had even had the second rise, I just left it as a pool of dough in the tin and whacked it in the oven. So it turned out almost like chewy, sour, flatbread and it was quite nice. However at this point I have a sinking heart towards it all.

I discovered this website "Seitan is my motor" that looks like it has incredibly accessible bread recipes on there that I'm willing to give a go. I just need to have a few really good successes because as you can tell.. I'm down on the whole thing right now. Can anyone recommend any bread courses that aren't a million dollars? <3

Monday Melbourne Roundup

Ahh Melbourne, I'm sorry we had a tiff, I love you I really do.

Out

Whip It



I went to the preview screening of Whip It with the rollergirls on Tuesday night. All I can say is, it’s a pretty non ofensive "chick flick" (consider that I'm pretty offended by almost everything) and it was nice to see 'normal' people on the screen. Biggest criticism, 2 hours is 30 minutes too long for a piece of fluff. Also Juliette Lewis is possibly the worst actor in history in this oh and I had never been to the Jam Factory before, all I can say is wtf?!!?

Price: free through Roller Derby

Meet Me at the End - Fringe Festival

Im in love..... imagine being lead into a leaky, dark abandoned tunnel (Campbell Arcade)... sitting on blankets while a girl in rubber dungarees and a megaphone, armed with tea and lamingtons, urges you to light her with you flashlights otherwise everyone is unable to see properly.... while creaky sounds come seemingly from a gramaphone but really from a tapedeck hidden behind it... you are the last surivours in Melbourne.. and she will be heard... you sit captivated for 45 minutes while she rants on about love, isolation, creation and community.... I was utterly... utterly enchanted...

I love the concept that your life, your 80 years on this planet is a holiday, a visit, a weekend getaway in the greater context of things..... le sigh.

Briohnys blog, if you were interested in reading this fascinating girls writing.

Price: free through Fringe Festival Membership (its $5 every year and I got free tickets to 3 shows which equated to $30)

Tattoo Mystique - Angelique Houtekamp at Outre Gallery

Well I rode the freebie circuit in Melbourne this week. I've had $10 in my pocket from last Tuesday till tomorrow. Mailing lists my friends mailing lists and memberships. The new book looks good, however it was just rad to stand around and catch up with a bunch of my friends I havent seen in ages and drink tonnes of free beer.

Price: Free through Outre email list.

Eats/Drinks

Horse Bazaar

I really love this place. Once the 'it' place, it went through the usual evolution of being overrun by hipsters, then overrun by office people trying to 'up their cool' then overrun by suburbanites, then being completely 'uncool' to now being quite AWESOME. Its filled with such a weird mix of people, suits, old people, young people, both sub/urban. Its really relaxed, I cant stand the hipsters these days they are making me want to throw up. The Horse Bazaar space is really cool too and awesome cocktails of the week.

Price: free. drank water cause I was poor.

lentil burgers

A quick and easy meal.

ingredients
1x can of lentils - rised throughly
1/4 onion, small dice
Salt and pepper
1 glug of olive oil
fresh chilli sliced (I put chilli in everything dont mind me)
burger buns
salad greens/burger sauces of choice
1/4 cup of cooked cous cous
1x onion thinly sliced and cooked

1 can makes about 3 patties.

method
1. Mash the lentils till about half mashed. Add the salt/olive oil/pepper/diced onions/chilli/whatever seasoning you want and form lentils into patties.

2. Roll patties in cooked couscous until 'breaded'. Dry fry in a non stick fry pan.

3. Dress the burger. I used the left over basil pesto from the other day, veganaisse from Radical Grocery (yummiest once I've found) and a bit of tomato sauce, cause I'm a bogan like that.

Homemade American Baked Beans - Badd Manors - Glebe - Sydney

Ahh Badde Manors, one of the few vegetarian eateries in Sydney. My usual routine when I go home is, chai (at least) at Badde Manors and then Glebe Markets, MCA then walk over to the AGNSW for tea then a wander. It was pissing down the majority of the time I was there and alas the markets weren't on (can someone tell me why? that was the first time EVER they havent been on!), so anyway I had the beans, Rose had cinnamon toast. The beans weren't great, not very flavourful, and it came with a 'side' of breakfast potatoes which equated to about 2.5 chats, pan fried in spices. My chai, as usual, was divine. The service to my surprise was very friendly, only one person at the end was the usual surly, I have came to cherish in Sydney, service. Great for people watching, especially sitting on the sidewalk. One of the few 'old Sydney' vibes left in town.

Space: a bustling, urban, full of pretty people 9/10
Service: mostly super friendly with one sour bitch 7/10
Food: relatively bland beans and boring bit of bread, ok potatoes 6/10

14/20

Deets: Badde Manors Cafe 1/37 Glebe Point Road, Sydney NSW 2037
$$: my beans were a very cheap (especially for Sydney) $7.50 and my chai $4.50

vegetable stirfry with cashew sauce - bangkok sidewalk - kirribilli - sydney

Ahh Sydney (or Shitney as all expats call it). Theres honestly not much I miss about you, ridic Thai Food and epic beaches is all. Oh also, eating lunch having insane views like this*:



So anyway, its hard to find a bad thai meal in Sydney, but this meal was off the scale for my poor little asian-food-deprived-Melburnian-intellectual-tastebuds. No really. As with anything Asian do specify that you are strict vegetarian and ask for no oyster sauce. If you're ever in the neighbourhood go there, however I feel like I can say that about most Asian places in Sydney, its much of a muchness.

* we actually tried to have lunch at the pools but they were booked out. The Bangkok sidewalk is on the other side of the Bridge and you cant really see it from the restaurant but it has a nice and breezy sidewalk setting and open shuttered walls. And if you leave it late enough you can watch all the St Aloysius boys pile out of school. Sexy times.

deets: Bangkok Sidewalk, Shop 2, 31 Fitzroy St, Kirribilli #02 99291212
$$: Both of our stirfries were $15 and feed us to bursting, Dad bought a bottle of wine from the bottlo across the street. No corkage. Good value.

minestrone with basil pesto

With minestrone, you can pretty much whack anything in there, any seasonal vegetable, or frozen vegies you have lying around. Recipe from the Voluptous Vegan.

ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced or diced
1 tsp of dried thyme
1 tsp of dried rosemary
1 tsp of fresh (or dried) chilli finely sliced (or to your taste)
1 tin of diced tomatoes
1 tin of butter beans (or borlotti/butter beans or chickpeas, whatever)
5 cups of vegetarian stock (any flavour)
1/2 cup of red wine (optional)
2 potatoes, peeled and diced small
1/4 cup of short pasta (optional)
1 large carrot, diced
2 zucchinis, diced large
1 tsp of salt
Cracked pepper to taste

method
1.Saute the onions, carrots and garlic over medium heat until soft and the onion is translucent. Add thyme, rosemary and chilli and stir.

2. Add all the ingredients to the pot minus the pasta and the spinach/greens and cook until then vegetables are 'al dente', not soft, then add the pasta and cook another 10 minutes until the pasta is done.

3. Add the spinach/greens for 2 minutes until wilted into the soup. Serve with a big dollop of pesto. Add more water if you need to during the pasta cooking session.

basil pesto
yields 3/4 cup

1 cup of pine nuts, toasted
2 packed cups of basil leaves
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp of light miso paste (yellow/white/barley)
1/4 cup of nooch* (optional)
1/4 to 1/3 a cup of olive oil

1. Start with the 1/4 cup of olive oil and whizz all the pesto ingredients together in a food processor. If pesto is not thin enough add more olive oil until desired consistency. Serve on everything!

The pesto keeps in an air tight container for up to 3 days.

notes: Nooch = nutritional yeast or 'savoury yeast flakes' as it is sometimes called. You can buy at any health food store it adds a cheesy flavour. Fresh miso paste can be found at asian supermarkets (and sometimes regular).

lentil walnut pate with tofu sour cream

Hi everyone! Sorry for the lack of posting, I've been at wedding-arama in Sydney since Wednesday. I was so hungover yesterday I felt like I had bone cancer. The good news however is, I have a BACKLOG of posts to share with you. It also means I've missed out on the first 2 days of Vegan Mofo, but I'll make it up with posts this weekend!

Now onto food goodness! (Sorry for the crap photo too, I need to figure out night lighting in my house).

lentil walnut pate (from the Real Food Daily book)

This pate takes a bit of time but its SO worth it and SO impressive to your dinner guests. I figure the best way to make people consider veganism is to woo them with outstanding food!

ingredients
3/4 dried lentils (or a can of cooked lentils, rinsed)
3 cups of water
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp olive oil
6 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
1 small onion diced
1 tbsp of mirin
1 1/4 cup of walnuts, toasted
1/3 cup of fresh basil
3 tbsp of yellow miso
1 1/2 tbsp of umeboshi paste
1 tbsp of fresh thyme
3/4 tsp of freshly ground black pepper

Serve with tofu sour cream (recipe to come)

method
Firstly a word about the ingredients, you will find umeboshi paste or plums (umeboshi are brined Japanese plums about the size of a giant grape) at any asian supermaket with a decent Japanese food section (the one near Queen Vic markets is rad, but the one in Barkley is cheaper), if you cant find the paste I just measure out as many plums into a tbsp (remember to pit them first!), as for the miso I have used all kinds of different misos in this and its always turned out well, from barley miso to white miso, you just need a light coloured miso. Ive also made it with dry herbs instead of fresh, use 1 tsp of dried to 1bsp of fresh.

1. (Skip this step if you are using canned lentils) Cook the lentils with the bay leaf and water until tender, drain then rinse and remove bay leaf.

2. In a fry pan, cook the onion and garlic in the olive oil until golden brown, stir in the mirin then take off the heat and cool.

3. Chop the walnuts in a food processor until it forms a paste and blend in the lentils and onion mixture. Then combine the remaining ingredients - umeboshi paste, basil, miso, lentils, and thyme, whizz until completely combined.

dill tofu sour cream
1 packet of Japanese silken tofu*
1 tsp of sushi seasoning
1 tsp of mirin
1/3 tsp of dry mustard or dijon
1/4 clove of garlic, minced
2 tsp of olive oil
1 tsp of dill (optional)

method
1. Gently remove tofu from its package and place into a container of fresh water. Run the tap over it slowly until the water runs clear (about 3 minutes).
2. Drain the tofu and whizz all the ingredients in a food processor (I've also used a stick blender with success) until smooth. Season to taste.

notes: The sour cream keeps up to a week, just stir through any released water before serving. You can flavour it to suit any dish just add some hot sauce, lemon juice, thyme – any herb. Japanese silken tofu can sometimes be found in the fresh tofu section but Morinaga (brand) tofu is the best. You can find Morinaga in the Asian food section in a juice box type container. Firm or soft I can’t tell the difference, both make great sour cream.