Recreating Pad Thai

Every now and again I feel the need to recreate a meal I love eating in restaurants but am intimidated about making at home. Pad Thai is just such one of these dishes. I love it with the flat noodles, chunks of tofu, crunch of peanuts and fresh bean sprouts. Making it at home had the advantage of being able to make it my way. Lots of vegetables and no egg.

I decided to try it a few weeks back. I bought the tamarind paste and bean sprouts which are not usually in my kitchen. I searched recipes. I found Pim’s sage advice via Nupur. Pim takes your hand and walks you thought the elements of Pad Thai with lots of tips and chats about the sour, salty, sweet and chilli flavours. She is into her meat and seafood so I turned to Andrea’s Easy Vegan Cooking for a vegan recipe full of tofu and vegetables.

My first attempt was not quite right. I was intimidated enough to prepare everything before I started. The sourness of the gloopy tamarind paste gave the right flavour but the chillis weren’t hot enough and the long life soft noodles were too few and too soft. But I know I was close.

This week I returned to Project Pad Thai. I bought dried noodles which worked better – other than when I tipped them down the sink by accident when trying to drain them and had to scoop them up. I was amused to see the brand was Pandaroo and I thought the packaging was cute. The red chilli I bought gave a pleasing warm tingle, which is all I want given that I am a chilli wimp. I also added more tofu because I felt the first attempt was lacking a little there.

The ingredient, other than tamarind, that really challenged me was palm sugar. It is something that I have never seen before and didn’t really know what it was. I looked in small ethnic supermarkets without luck and then found it in the large local supermarket. It came in lumps that reminded me of sugar lumps but it was more sandy and together. I have seen that you can grate or chop it so I chopped it into small pieces and mixed it into the marinade where I think it dissolved. I am not sure it made the marinade very different to agave syrup that I used the first time. Now I have a box of palm sugar to use but I guess I can substitute it for regular sugar in baking. In future I probably wouldn’t bother buying it but I think tamarind is important to the flavour.

The second time I made the Pad Thai it was much better. The noodles and tofu seemed right and I loved all the vegetables. I forgot the lime wedges but we weren’t too bothered because last time E overdid the lime juice on his. I think bean sprouts are necessary but I hate having to buy a whole packet in a plastic bag when I only want a handful, especially as E doesn’t like them. As for fresh coriander, I avoid it and tried both basil and parsley which are ok but if you can stomach coriander it is probably more authentic.

I am pleased with the below version of the recipe. There was a little marinade leftover but Pim says it is better to have too much than too little and she advises that it can be kept in the fridge for next time. I recommend keeping it rather than tipping it all in as the noodles should be just coated with no sauce sloshing around. The preparation is very important as there is very little cooking involved. I quite enjoyed the slight crunch in the vegetables but make sure they are chopped into thin matchstick pieces.

Some of you will make Pad Thai without much fuss or sweat. But if you want help in making a good vegan one I suggest checking out Pim’s advice and I hope this post will also help. We are not going out for dinner very much at the moment and it is a small consolation to be able to have a favourite restaurant meal at home. I will be returning to this recipe and hope that eventually I will be more relaxed about it. It really isn't that difficult!

Vegetarian Pad Thai
Inspired by Pim
Serves 4

• 500g firm tofu, diced
• 200g dried rice stick noodles
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 carrots, chopped in matchsticks
• 1/2 red capsicum, chopped in matchsticks
  
• 1 bunch asparagus, chopped in matchsticks
• 1 handful snow peas, chopped in matchsticks
• 3 spring onions, thinly slice vertically
• 10 button mushrooms, sliced

Marinade:

• 3 tbsp tamarind paste
• 3 tbsp tamari
• 1 tbsp kecap manis
• 2 tbsp chopped palm sugar
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped, or to taste
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

To serve:

• handful peanuts, chopped
• couple of handfuls of sprouts
• small handful of coriander (or basil or parsley)
• lime wedges to serve

Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a medium bowl and taste to check the flavours balance together. Toss tofu chunks in it so they are covered. Marinate for at least 30 minutes. You will probably need this time to prepare the vegetables if you cut at the same rate as me.

Now pour boiling water over noodles and leave for 20 minutes, then rinse under cold water.

While tofu and noodles are set aside, chop the vegetables. Then heat oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium heat. Use a spoon or fork to remove the tofu from the marinade. Stir fry tofu, carrot and mushrooms for about 4 minutes. (If you want to have leftovers, you can make up to this point but I found that the noodles were not great the next day.) Add noodles, asparagus, snow peas, spring onion and enough of the extra sauce to coat everything and stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Put any leftover marinade in fridge for another time.

To serve spoon some noodle mixture into a bowl. You can serve on a table with bowls of bean sprouts, peanuts, coriander and lime wedges for everyone to help themselves or you can arrange these on top of each bowlful.

On the Stereo:
At First Sight, Violets are Blue: The Stems

The Cornbread that Stops a Nation

There are rumours that it wasn’t my cornbread that stopped the nation at 3pm on the first Tuesday in November this year. Some say it was a horse race not cornbread. However I am sure a marvellous cornbread is far more likely to bring a nation to a standstill than a horse race, even the Melbourne Cup.

I have been making cornbread for many years and have tried lots of recipes. Some good, some bad. I have made a few unusual cornbread recipes since starting this blog but no plain old common garden cornbreads. My problem is that when I want a cornbread, I have to trawl through all my recipes to find a good one.

I decided to find a good basic recipe and post it so next time I can turn to the blog. I have had some terribly dry cornbreads in the past, mainly due to too much cornmeal. A reasonable amount of wheat flour gives that lightness that balances the heavy cornmeal. I also love buttermilk or yoghurt and creamed corn to keep it moist and soft. So I searched for just such a recipe and then added cheese and parsley, which I love in cornbread for extra colour and flavour.

This recipe was easy and delicious and could be adapted to preferences. The cheese can be omitted or you could add chives instead of parsley or spice it up with some chillis. Corn kernels could be substituted for the creamed corn but you may need a little sugar or sweetener. This was just the cornbread recipe I had been seeking. It was hard not to eat all the bread fresh out of the oven but fortunately there was a lot of it.

I baked it this week on Cup Day. The Melbourne Cup might be a big deal in Australia, especially for those who get the public holiday and spend a day at the races filled with frocks, fascinators and many a flutter. At our house cornbread is more important. At 3pm when the horses sprinted out of the starting blocks, we sat down to watch with a satisfying, albeit late, lunch of cornbread, salad and strawberry, watermelon and apple juice.

I had cornbread left yesterday to take to meet up with my sister, Fran. Originally it was to be a lunch date but she had a working lunch and Sylvia is easier to feed at home. We met at 2pm for a quick catch up and I meant to eat beforehand but it took so long to feed Sylvia that I only had time to get mine together and rush out the door. I ate it outside in a park chatting to Fran, watching Sylvia play on her rug and surrounded by tennis courts and avenues of spooky trees.

My cornbread was great with salad. It was still soft and delicious the day after baking it. I am looking forward to serving this cornbread with chilli non carne or soup. I would like to believe the nation stopped this year as much for my cornbread as for the race. It is that good. Just ask the dinosaurs!

Cheesy cornbread
Adapted from about.com

• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup buttermilk or yoghurt
• 3 large eggs
• 400g tin of creamed corn
• 125g grated tasty cheese
• ¼ cup chopped parsley (handful)
• 1½ cups yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup plain white flour
• ½ cup plain wholemeal flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 teaspoon salt

Grease and line a 22cm or 9 inch square cake tin. Heat oven to 220 C or 425 F. Melt butter in the microwave in a microwave proof bowl or on the stovetop in a large saucepan. Add buttermilk or yoghurt, eggs, creamed corn, cheese and parsley. Mix with a fork. Add remaining ingredients and mix till just combined. Spoon into prepared tin. Bake for 20-30 minutes (it took me 30 minutes) until golden brown and cornbread springs back when lightly touched with a finger. Cool 5 minutes and then turn out on a wire rack to cool completely.

On the Stereo:
A Secret History: the Best of the Divine Comedy – The Divine Comedy

Boys Birthday, Number Two

Yesterday we had a small afternoon tea for our second year of celebrating a birthday without our birthday boys. It is not easy when Alex and Ian were stillborn with not a breath of life and we must observe their death along with their birth. I wish it wasn’t so. It is important to remember their place in our family, and even more so with the arrival of Sylvia this year, who was a distraction yesterday but a joyful blessing nevertheless.

The day before I baked a birthday cake, took gluten free gingerbread dough from the freezer to bake into shapes and made pumpkin cheesecakes. I was glad they were done by the time Sylvia decided not to sleep. She refused all attempts to settle her to sleep yesterday. In desperation, E left a sink full of dishes to play her guitar and then walked her in the pram. Finally she slept in the World War II section of the library.

Meanwhile back at home, I began to decorate the cake with less than an hour till the family arrived, half the dishes still to be washed and mess all around me. People started to arrive as I was finishing the cake. I still had to get the gingerbread letters done so my little nieces helped to sprinkle (or heap) sparkles on them for me. My dad helped with the dishes, my sister tidied up Sylvia’s toys and mum busied herself around the kitchen.

It didn’t take long to arrange the food on the table and the chairs around it outside in the sunshine. My mum had brought us a bunch of roses from her garden, including a couple of sweet smelling Alex Red Roses. Maddy and Ella brought along jack o lanterns that they made with my American sister in law Miriam. Sylvia spent most of the time in the stroller in the hope she might sleep more but after a few grizzles she perked up and was wide awake.

We only have a small unit but the kids kept themselves busy. Cooper took great delight in constantly climbing the three steps to our back door and when he wasn’t climbing he banged on the shed door. My little nieces hopped and skipped and played with Sylvia’s toys and even disappeared inside to pet Zinc who was hiding in the bedroom. Grace found a little green caterpillar on the lemon tree. One of the most amusing moments was when everyone was suddenly quiet and the only voice to be heard was my sister Susie reading to Ella from our Cheeky Little Cats book, saying loudly, “haven’t you heard of an indicator, you mongrel”.

Susie went to a morning tea at work last week where there was no gluten free food so she was unable to eat anything. Yesterday we had plenty of gluten free treats, which meant to I could send a lot of leftovers home with her. My mum brought along some gluten free little cakes and gluten free choc chip cookies. I made grubs with and without ‘gluten’ biscuits.

I made some chocolate pumpkin mini cheesecakes. It meant I was able to use some pumpkin and my purple cupcake papers as a nod to Halloween. Doing mini cheesecakes made it easier to cater for gluten free guests. I used oreos for the gluten eaters and made an almond/coconut/soy flour concoction for the GF ones. When I made them, I just used a knife to chop and crush the oreos because I was worried the food processor would wake Sylvia. The GF crust seemed to work ok but I wish I hadn’t melted so much butter for the crust. I loved the cheesecake recipe that I found on Pinch My Salt but I added some choc chips and reduced the sweetness.

We didn’t need too much sweetness after the cake. I had asked E what cake to make. He wanted some butterscotch so I decided to make a chocolate banana cake and substitute chopped caramels instead of chocolate. If I had butterscotch chips I would use these. I have made this cake a few times before. I thought it was darker last time but it was still soft and delicious especially with dark chocolate ganache covering it.

The cake was the only non-GF food in the spread but we made sure that it had a GF element. A couple of weekends ago I tried making some gluten free gingerbread biscuits and took them down to Geelong especially for Susie and Grace. The biccies were ok but E was not keen. I actually liked them the second day when they were softer but they were slightly pasty and were not as chewy and dense as my bush buddies gingerbreads. So I was surprised to hear that after I left Geelong the nieces devoured them. I would like to try them again with a different gluten free flour mix, but I had some of the dough in the freezer to bake another batch.

I found a set of number and letter cookie cutters last week. I decided that, rather than making a little GF cake on the side as I often do, I would spread ganache – the best part of the cake – over gingerbread letters spelling Alex and Ian’s names. This gave some fun activities for the kids and something for the gluten free ones to eat. As the cookies are vegan, it would be possible to use vegan cream (like soyatoo) or coconut cream for the ganache and cater for them as well in this way. This batch was a little crispy but the next day when I tasted the ones with chocolate ganache the biccies had softened and tasted wonderful. They were the finishing touch we needed for the cake.

Lastly we had some chunks of watermelon that were popular. I had bought other fruit to put out but didn’t have time to chop it because we were so disorganized. E and I agreed that next time we must have some savoury food because the sweet food was pretty intense after not having a chance to eat lunch. But it was delicious party food that I hope my boys would have loved.

How to Make a Number Two Cake

You will need a 20cm ring tin and a 13 x 22cm loaf tin (or a thinner loaf tin if you have one). First make a template using a pen to trace around the tins onto paper – I used baking paper. Cut out these shapes. To cut a hole in the ring tin template fold the circle in half and in half again and again til you have a little wedge. Place wedge against the tin to measure where to cut the end off and when you unfold you will have a ring. (See photo). Arrange as a number two on the tray or plate that you will use for the cake. I used a baking tray covered in foil.

The day before decorating cake, make the cake and cookies using the recipes below to make the letters of names or words you want to display. I like the cake to have sat overnight to make it easier to handle. The cake is quite soft but don't worry if it collapses a little as the ganache will cover a multitude of sins.

Use the paper shapes to cut and arrange the cake to make a number two. I had to 'discard' (ie eat separately) some of the loaf cake and a little wedge of the ring cake to make the shape right. Spread ganache over the cake and sides but put a few spoonfuls to the side for the letters. Use coloured sprinkles to make stripes along the two. I used a spatula held above the cake to help me keep the edges a bit neat.

Use the remaining ganache to carefully spread over the letters with a knife and scatter sprinkles over each on a plate. Place letters along the sides to make words.

Choc-Caramel Banana Cake
Adapted from UK Safeway Magazine (c. 2001)

• 175g butter (I used margarine)
• 175g brown sugar (about 1 cup loosely packed)
• 175g self raising flour (about 1⅓ cups)
• 25g cocoa (about ¼ cup)
• 3 eggs
• 4 tbsp golden syrup
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1 banana, chopped
• 125g jersey caramels, chopped (or dark chocolate)

Chocolate Ganache:

• 250g dark chocolate
• 4 tbsp double cream
• 3 tbsp icing sugar

Preheat oven to 180 C. Grease and line a 13 x 22cm loaf tin and a 20cm ring tin. (In the past I have used a 23cm square cake tin).

Beat together butter, sugar, flour, cocoa, eggs, golden syrup, 1 mashed banana and 3 tbsp water until soft and creamy. (I did this by hand but you could use electric beaters.) Fold in chopped banana and caramels and spoon into prepared tins. Smooth tops and bake for 30-40 minutes until a skewer comes out cleanly. (My ring tin took 30 minutes, my loaf tin took 40 minutes and when I used a 23cm square tin, it took 45 minutes.) Cool in tin for 5-10 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool. (NB I found that the cakes stuck to the tin where the caramels had melted so I had to be very careful running the knife around the edge and giving the tin a shake to check it had come away from the sides before turning out.)

To make ganache, melt chocolate in a microwave oven proof bowl in the microwave (or use a double boiler on the stovetop) and then mix in cream and icing sugar. Set aside a few minutes to thicken if too hot (I find that melting chocolate in the microwave means it doesn’t get as hot as on the stovetop). Spread over the cooled cake.

Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cut-Out Cookies
From Tastebook.com
Makes about 5 dozen 5cm diameter cookies

• 185g margarine (or butter)
  
• ¼ cup molasses
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1½ cups gluten free plain flour
• 1 cup rice flour
• ½ cup buckwheat flour
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 3 tsp baking powder
• ½ cup water, approximately
• lots of corn flour (cornstarch) -- for rolling out dough

Combine margarine, molasses, brown sugar and vanilla til creamy (I did this by hand but you could use electric beaters). Fold in remaining ingredients except water and corn flour. Add water as necessary to make a moist ball of dough. My dough was very very soft so maybe I could have done with less water. Divide dough in half. Wrap each portion in cling film ad chill for at least one hour. It can be frozen at this stage.

Preheat oven to 170 C or 325 F. Line baking trays with baking paper (or silicone liner – I have just bought one).

Liberally dust work surface and rolling pin with corn flour. My dough was really soft (even after the freezer) and I needed lots of corn flour to handle it. Roll dough out to about ½ inch thick (that is what recipe suggests – I think mine were a little thinner but I wouldn’t recommend any thinner than ¼ inch as the thinner the dough the crisper the cookie).

Cut shapes as desired. An eggflip or spatula or just a bread knife is useful to lift shapes onto baking tray. Leave a bit of room for them to expand. Decorate shapes with a sprinkling of coarse sugar or dried fruit or just leave plain.

Bake for about 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on the tray for about 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. I found they were better after a day or two.

Chocolate Pumpkin Mini Cheesecakes
Filling adapted from Pinch My Salt
Makes 12 mini cupcakes

Base (for 6 gluten and 6 gluten free):**

• 6 oreos
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 2 tbsp coconut
• 2 tbsp soy flour
• 8 tbsp ground almonds

Filling:

• 250g package cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup mashed (or pureed) pumpkin (about 250g fresh pumpkin)
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon*
• ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger*
• ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg*
• ½ cup choc chips

* NB I just gave a good shake of mixed spice and cinnamon
** Next time I would use less butter and add a little brown sugar and cocoa

Preheat oven to 190 C or 375 F. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with muffin papers.

To make base: Crush oreos either in a food processor or by chopping and then crushing with a chef’s knife. Divide among 6 of the muffin papers and press down firmly with fingers or a teaspoon. For the gluten free base, combine melted butter, coconut, soy flour, and almonds. Divide among the remaining 6 bases and press down firmly.

Mix filling ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Spoon on top of each base, dividing evenly among the 12 muffin cups.

Bake in oven for minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly then remove from muffin tray and cool completely. Chill in fridge till ready to serve – I chilled mine overnight.

On the Stereo:
Rockabye Baby Lullaby Renditions of Nine Inch Nails – Alex Gibson

Remembering Alex and Ian

Today is All Saints Day, the day, also known as All Hallows or Hallowmas. In Mexico it is The Day of the Dead, a day to honour dead children and infants. My two little boys were born and died two years ago today so we remember them and all that they never did. I will tell you about their cake and celebrations soon. Happy birthday Alex and Ian!

Purple Pleasures, Purple Dinner

A few weekends back I was visiting family and I was talking to my niece about my green post. When Quin was little she loved asking everyone their favourite colour and so she is quite aware that I love purple as much as I love green. Do a purple post, she suggested. She took my camera and set off taking some purple photos. Here is her purple arrangement.

We went looking for more purple. My mum often has irises in a vase:

Grace helped by pointing out some purple flowers in the garden:

Then we had a photo of Quin’s leggings, Ella’s top and Maddy’s bracelet.

My parents had been to Europe recently and contributed a photo of purple flowers at Kensington Palace:

I got home and started looking around for purple. We have a big purple sofa but other than that, we have splashes of purple, which are considerably less than the swathes of green. Purple books:

Purple bits and pieces, mainly from around the kitchen:

Sylvia’s purple clothes:

A purple design on a baby blanket (stitched by my high school teacher Mrs M whose passion for literature lingers with me even today):

I thought I might find a purple house on my walks around the neighbourhood but it was not to be. I looked and looked but was lucky to find a fencepost and a letterbox:

There were many purple flowers in gardens. I had hope of finding deep purple roses but finally had to settle for a pale mauve one:

I did find a purple picnic table at the Railway Hotel:

And some purple grafitti on the wall:

I came to the conclusion that there is not enough purple in our lives. It is all around us but only in small patches of colour. I want more. More purple beetroot burgers. More purple plum chutney. more purple blueberry soup. More purple cherry salsa. So I had to add to the purple recipes.

I wasn’t sure what purple food to feature until I came across a purple cauliflower at La Manna Fresh. It is a rare joy to find such an oddity. In fact, I haven’t seen one since my first blog event post very early in my blogging when I couldn’t for the life of me work out how to focus my camera properly. I had to buy it and all the other purple food I could.

Unfortunately due to the season, I was unable to find some fine purple discoveries over the past few years but you can see photos in older posts featuring or purple congo potatoes or purple asparagus or dried dragonfruit. Given time, I might even blog with purple basil and purple butter lettuce. In the below photo you can see my purple haul of cauliflower, beetroot, sweet potato, aubergine, cabbage, onion, garlic, potatoes, passionfruit, blueberries and beetroot chips.

My head was spinning with ideas. Dips. Stirfries. Soup. The first night I made cauliflower falafels that were a little too salty and not quite purple enough, despite purple ingredients such as purple corn flour, pomegranate molasses and red onion. I also made a dairy-free tahini sauce based on Tofu for Two’s sauce and added beetroot dip but it just ended up pink.

I wanted some really really purple food. Finally I settled on Fran’s recommendation of trying Cauliflower Rice. It was the perfect way to feature some of the purple cauliflower, which became an even deeper purple when cooked. (Alternatively I had considered a purple cauliflower mash.) With the view of keeping it simple, I then took my purple cabbage – it reminds me a bit of Edvard Munch’s painting, The Scream – and fried it up with lots of butter and salt. I roasted some beetroot and eggplant to add to the purple vegetables.

For the ultimate purple meal, I piled purple cauliflower rice, fried purple cabbage, roasted beetroot, roasted eggplant, falafel in layers on my plate. I finished it off with some tofu sauce that I would like to think is a very pale purple. It was dark, intense and full of butter and salt. I loved it. E was not so keen. We had leftovers that went into a purple soup the next day with some potatoes, sweet potato, lentils and water.

Not content with the purple falafel fry-up and soup, I also made a purple juice, which was delicious. It was unusual for me to strain it. I don’t have a fancy elecronic juicer and usually just puree with a hand held blender in a tall jug but this was too seedy and pulpy and I found using the bottom of a glass rather than a spoon helped the juice get through the strainer quicker.

I am dedicating this post to Quin who I know will love it. If you too have a passion for purple, I can highly recommend these dishes!

Cauliflower Falafels
Serves 4

• ¼ purple cauliflower, chopped and steamed
• ½ bunch parsley, chopped
• 2 tbsp purple corn flour
• 2 tbsp tahini
• ⅛ red onion, chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1-3 tsp pomegranate molasses*
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tin chickpeas
• 1-3 tsp tamari*
• black sesame seeds and oil spray for baking

Note: I used 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses and 1 tsp tamari but the falafels were a little sweet and needed more seasoning. It was ok as the cabbage, cauliflower and sauce were quite salty. However, I suggest checking the taste and gradually adding teaspoons of both pomegranate molasses and tamari.

Place all ingredients except black sesame seeds and oil spray into the food processor and blend to make a paste. Line a baking tray with baking paper and drop teaspoonfuls onto tray. Use damp fingers to shape as round balls. Spray with oil spray and sprinkle with black sesame seeds. Bake for 30 min at 230 C.

Tahini Sauce:
Adapted from Tofu for Two
serves 4-6

• 3 tablespoons tahini
• ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
• 70 g tofu (optional)
• 1-2 garlic cloves
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 tsp agave syrup (or sugar)
• 2 tbsp beetroot dip (or additional 1 tsp agave syrup)
• juice of 1 small lemon
• ⅔ cup water

Place all ingredients in food processor and blend til combined to make thickened sauce. I added more water than Heikki because I wanted it to be a pouring consistency but add the water gradually until you have your desired consistency.

Cauliflower Rice
Adapted from a book my sister has (I will get name soon)
Serves 4

• ¾ purple cauliflower
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 clove garlic
• ¼ red onion finely chopped
• ½ tsp salt

Roughly chop cauliflower, then blitz in food processor til finely chopped. It will look a little like rice. Melt butter in large frypan over low to medium heat. Lightly fry onion and garlic for a couple of minutes. Add cauliflower and fry for about 5-8 minutes til cooked. If you are using purple cauliflower you will notice it changing colour when cooked.

Fried Cabbage
Serves 4

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• ½ red onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• ½ purple cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste (it was quite salty)

Fry onion and garlic in butter and oil for a couple of minutes in a large frypan. Add the remaining ingredients and fry over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes or until cabbage is cooked and a little crispy around the edges.

Dukkah Roasted Eggplants and Beetroot
Serves 2

• 2 japanese eggplants, diced
• 1 beetroot diced
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 heaped tsp dukkah

Toss eggplants and beetroot with oil and dukkah in a roasting dish. Roast for 50-60 minutes at 230 C until dark and soft.

Purple Passionate Pine Pom Juice
Makes about 2 glasses

• ½ pineapple, trimmed and chopped
• pulp of 1 passionfruit
• arils of ¾ pomegranate
• ½ punnet (60g) blueberries

Blend till mushy. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, using the bottom of a glass or other objects to push the juice through quickly. Discard the pulp left behind in sieve. Drink the juice and enjoy!

On the stereo:
Vauxhall and I: Morrissey

The joy of mouldy soy cheese and other quirky notes

Yesterday felt like summer had arrived, albeit a wee bit early. The sun shone brightly and I felt every bit and more of the day’s high of 30 C in the car. I was delighted to find the first peaches of the season in the supermarket. We bought Sylvia baby sun cream and she wore her cupcake parade summer pajamas for the first time. One of the gardens we passed on a walk was even growing dolls. You wouldn't believe me if you didn't see this photo!

While at the supermarket there was yet another sign of Americans colonising our lives. Huge orange Halloween pumpkins, the likes of which I have never seen before in Australia. What really outraged me was that they cost a whopping $24 per pumpkin compared to the large wedges of our own Jap, Kent and Queensland Blue pumpkins that we usually buy for $2 or $3 per kilo. I am curious but not a sucker. I had a good laugh at the price with an old guy and a woman with her daughter. ‘I bet they don’t even taste good’ said the old bloke. Even more exciting shopping was found in the amazing range of Herbies Spices at Two Prickly Pears (253 Lygon Street, Carlton).

Sylvia didn’t like her stewed peach – maybe it wasn’t ripe and sweet enough as she screwed up her face at the taste – and I had made some dry hedgehog when hurrying yesterday. Peach puree, chopped hedgehog, yoghurt and fruit salad were a delicious combination – if I had been posh I would have layered them in parfait glasses but when alone, it is easy to have snacks so messy that photos aren't advisable.

For lunch a few days ago I had taken out the dodgy soy cheese (which had casein) to use it up in a sandwich with coleslaw. It had a big patch of mould on it. Straight into the bin. I looked around and had a bit of tofu so I mixed it with nutritional yeast flakes, mustard, mayo and miso. What a delicious discovery! It made me glad the horrid plastic soy cheese was mouldy.

The cheese spread is not a hard cheese for melting on toast under the grill or for grating but after my attempts to find a decent dairy free cheese, I much prefer this one. I suspect it would be a good vegan/dairy free cheese like ricotta or cream cheese to be used in lasagna, crumbled over pasta or stews, used in a tart or maybe with a bit of pesto it would make a nice dip. (Lucy suggests cashew goat’s cheese and Ricki has an almond feta cheese that looks interesting.)

I have now had it on my sandwiches 3 days in a row because it was so good. Today a friend Jane came over and I made her salad sandwiches and fruit salad. It felt very healthy. A litmus test of how well stocked my fridge is, is whether I can make a good salad sandwich. If you are looking for ideas, I can highly recommend avocado, coleslaw, fried vegie sausages, sliced tomato and this cheese spread. Delicious and easy, it is just the thing if you need energy to deal with a baby who will not sleep.

Vegan Cheesy Sandwich Spread
for about 3 sandwiches

150g firm tofu
2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
1 tbsp mayonnaise (can be soy mayonnaise)
1½ tsp white miso
1 tsp seeded mustard

Use a fork to mash tofu in a small bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix to combine. Great in a sandwich with tomato and coleslaw.

On the Stereo:
Wonderland Soundtrack: Michael Nyman

Snags, coleslaw and Julie/Julia

This week I finished reading Julie ad Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell. Now that it is a major motion picture you probably know it. If not, it is the story of blogger Julie Powell who cooked all the recipes in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking in a year. While I am not that interested by the cooking, I understand some of the all night cooking adventures and long suffering partner waiting patiently for dinner. Indeed, that has been my story this week.

I was really interested to hear about the experiences of another blogger but her experiences in 2002 suggest that blogging has changed quite a bit today. Honestly, if she was a food blogger today I would be unlikely to visit her blog regularly. Her attitude to meat – liver is sexy, isn’t it funny killing lobsters, and her embrace of marrow, aspic and offal – just isn’t something I can enjoy.

I have never been a great fan of French food because it is full of meat, cream and butter. Not at all my thing. As for Julia Child, I find it interesting to read American bloggers talk about how significant she was in changing the face of cooking in America. She has barely rated a mention in Australian cooking history so she brings no nostalgic value for me.

I could identify with some of Julie Powell's blogging stories. The late dinners, the kitchen groaning under piles of dishes and the enjoyment of comments. I even felt a little comforted that she had disasters even worse than mine, such as a maggot colony in her kitchen. But there were no mention of photography. In fact, I wanted to see photographs throughout the book because that is important with food blogging. I also found that she talked about her blog readers (or bleaders) but never about visiting other blogs. She presents blogging as a performance rather than a communal activity. Maybe this has changed as blogging has developed.

One other element of blogging that was missing, due to her focus on one cookbook, was the tyranny of choice. So many great recipes, so many interesting variations. This week I have had to make difficult decisions over coleslaw and vegetarian sausages, both of which have many interesting version.

It started with cabbage and carrots on sale. I decided to make coleslaw. Normally I would chop just a bit of the cabbage but I have a new mandolin slicer and thought I would try that. It was so easy before I knew it I had sliced up half a cabbage. I had so much that I thought I would take advantage of the opportunity to try two dressings. Both were great in their own way.

I had intended to dig out some coleslaw recipes but was too overwhelmed because everyone has their own variation. Instead I winged it using what was in the fridge, the pantry and the herb garden. After all, although I don’t tend to make it often, I have made coleslaw enough not to really need a recipe. One coleslaw had an Asian style dressing with crunchy peanuts and spicy ginger and cayenne. The other was more Western style with the sweet cranberries as foil for the tangy mustard.

The first night I thought it would be a nice quick meal to whip up but it was after 8.30 that I served it. Alongside it were Apricot and Orange Glazed Tofu and leftover Lentil Salad. But I kept thinking how much I associate coleslaw with barbeques so Michael’s Chorizo Sausages came to mind.

I have talked before about how much I love vegie sausages. The idea of being able to easily produce my own appealed. I first wanted to try this gluten flour method very soon after starting blogging when I discovered the Seitan O’ Greatness from the PPK Forums. Then I saw the vegan irish sausages on Fat Free Vegan Kitchen which were adapted from Julie Hasson’s spicy Italian sausages. I wanted to try all three recipes but barely had time for one. So you see the dilemma bloggers facing like me with all the blogosphere plus oodles of cookbooks.

I followed Michael’s recipe, which came from Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s latest cookbook, Vegan Brunch. They had a lot of spice so I reduced it considerably and added black pepper and fennel a la Julie (Julie Hasson, not Julie Powell). With a little more tweaking, they were finished. Sounds simple? Not when you are ready to eat and you realize the sausages need to steam for 40 minutes and then be fried. And everything takes longer with a baby. Not to mention the garlic crusher breaking mid-crush!

One reason I haven’t made these gluten sausages is my dislike of seitan and hence a suspicion of any food containing too much of it. The sausages were full of flavour, though not overly spicy, but they had a little of rubberiness of gluten. Truth be told, I think I preferred the Mushroom Chestnut and Couscous Sausages I made last year. I might have liked the gluten sausages more if I had managed to make them thinner. I did like the way they crisped up when fried, though I am still to try them under the grill, which is my usual way.

But the fried sausage slices, coleslaw, tomato and cannellini bean salad, and smoky spicy crackers was quite an impressive meal. Food bloggers might take their time over dinner but we do eat well.

Now I just need to think about how to use the other 6-8 sausages in the fridge. Sausage curry, anyone? Some other ideas below for cooking with vegetarian sausages:

• Sophie’s Mediterranean sausage, fennel, cannellini bean and tomato gratinSusan’s Pasta with peppers and sausage
• Susan’s Dublin coddle with vegan irish sausages
• Vegan dad’s Potato, apple casserole with maple sausage
• Vegan dad’s Fennel and mushroom lasagne
• Veg Cooking Blog’s Sausage, kale and white bean stew
  

Chorizo sausages
adapted from Vegan Brunch via Where’s the Beef
makes 8-10 sausages

1 cup cooked pinto beans (I used tinned cannellini beans), rinsed and drained
2 cups vegie stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons tomato paste
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ cup nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon dry rubbed sage
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, roughly ground
1 teaspoon black pepper, ground
½ teaspoon cayenne
½ tsp smoked paprika
2½ cups gluten flour

Mash the beans in a large bowl and add the other ingredients in the order listed. Cindy had gluten flour halfway up the list but I think I would prefer to put it in last because it went all rubbery before I finished adding the ingredients. Stir everything well. I ended up using my hands and sort of kneading it in the bowl.

Prepare the steamer so it is ready for the sausages. To steam them all at once you will need a large one. I used my pasta insert in my stockpot to steam them.

Tear off 8-10 sheets of aluminium foil which are about 15 to 20 cm wide. Using your hands pull off a small amount of dough and roll into a rough sausage shape. Place lengthwise along the foil and then roll up tightly in foil. Squish foil at each end (but I found if I twisted it, it broke) so it looks like a Christmas bon bon. Place in the steamer and seam for about 40 minutes.

Unwrap to use and store in fridge for a week or so. I image they will freeze but haven’t tried it. Great sliced and fried.

Two Types of Coleslaw
serves 6-8

½ savoy cabbage, finely sliced
2 large carrots, finely grated
1 medium green capsicum, finely sliced
2 spring onions, finely sliced

For cranberry and mustard coleslaw:
¼ cup mayonnaise (or mixture of mayonnaise and yoghurt)
1 tsp seeded mustard
juice of ¾ lime
½ clove garlic, crushed
¼ cup dried cranberries
handful parsley, chopped

For spicy peanut and lime coleslaw
1 tbsp soy mayonnaise
½ garlic clove, crushed
½ tsp finely grated ginger
handful chopped peanuts
handful mint, chopped
juice of half a lime
dash cayenne

Mix cabbage, carrots, capsicum and spring onions. Place two thirds of mixture in large salad bowl and mix with cranberry and mustard ingredients. Place the remaining third of vegetable mixture in a medium salad bowl and mix with peanut and line ingredients. Will keep for a few days in the fridge but may need extra mayonnaise and/or yoghurt after being kept in the fridge as it gets drier when it sits overnight.

On the stereo:
The Best of Focus: Focus