Take 3

Ok, here we go again. I'm giving this blog another go, they do say third time lucky, don't they?

Today was a foodie day. Starting out with breakfast at A Minor Place in Brunswick. I've read numerous posts from other veg bloggers about Henry's White Beans (white beans, garlic, rosemary, rocket, dukkah & lemon) and I wholeheartedly agree that these are delicious, the perfect thing for a rainy Sunday morning. The coffee was good, not mind-blowing, but it was strong, smooth but not bitter and not overwhelmingly soy-milky (is it just me or do some Soy Lattes seriously overdo the soy?) Service was great too, fast & friendly, all in all I'd say a 4.5/5 breakfast experience. The partner (let's call him D) went for the Brazilian Breakfast, which was poached eggs, roast tomato, spinach, avocado, henry's beans and toast - well received but definitely not a fan of the beans like me. Sorry - no photos as I forgot my camera, but I promise to do better next time!

After breakfast, we wandered back down Sydney Rd & did a spot of shopping at The Radical Grocery Store (I love walking into a shop knowing that I can buy ANYTHING in there - no need for checking labels here).

This afternoon it was time for my Sunday baking. I like to bake on a Sunday, I think it reminds of my childhood when my mum was teaching me how to cook. My Sunday baking always consists of mine & D's lunches for the week, plus sometimes something sweet from my ever growing list of recipes to try.

For myself this week I wanted to try the red quinoa that I bought last week (I have eaten quinoa before but never cooked with it myself). I was thinking a stew, so I ended up throwing together a Quinoa, Chickpea and Tomato Stew. I kind of made this up, but I have attempted to include a recipe of sorts below.

Quinoa, Chickpea and Tomato Stew

• 1 TBS olive oil
  
• 1 carrot, diced
  
• 1 celery stick, diced
  
• 1 onion, diced
  
• 1/2 clove garlic, crushed
  
• 3/4 cup red quinoa, rinsed & drained
  
• 1 x 400g can chickpeas, rinsed & drained
  
• 1 x 400g can crushed tomatoes
  
• 1/2 cup frozen or fresh corn kernels
  
• 1 1/4 cup vegetable stock or water
  
• 1/2 tsp each of ground cumin, ground coriander & chilli powder
  
• Salt & pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the carrot, celery, onion & garlic & saute 5mins, until softened. Add the remaining ingredients - bring to the boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has been absorbed and the quinoa has become translucent.

For D, I went with one of my regulars - the Spicy Bean & Lentil Loaf from The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook. This recipe contains egg & cheese, but is easily veganisable (is that a word???) by replacing the egg with any substitute that you like (I use Orgran No Egg - we never buy eggs for home) and the cheese could be replaced with any vegan cheese or just Nutritional Yeast. (I should also mention that D is vegetarian, not vegan). I'm not posting the full recipe here as I'm not sure about reproducing recipes verbatim from published books (but being the good little librarian that I am, I shall research this during the week & make a final decision).

Dinner tonight was leftovers - Shepherd's Pie - yum! I also made this one up, again, I have tried to reproduce a recipe below.

Shepherd's Pie

• 1 TBS olive oil
  
• 1 onion, diced
  
• 1 celery stick, diced
  
• 1 carrot, diced
  
• 1/2 capsicum, diced
  
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
  
• 1/2 cup mushrooms, diced
  
• 3/4 cup TVP, soaked in 1 cup stock or water until tender
  
• 1 x 400g can crushed tomatoes
  
• 1 TBS tomato paste
  
• 1 tsp each dry herbs (I used basil & oregano)
  
• Salt & Pepper to taste
  
• 1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast flakes
  
• 8 large potatoes, boiled & mashed with soy milk & Nuttelex

Preheat the oven to 180C. Heat the oil in a large frypan or saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrot, capsicum & garlic & saute 10mins, until softened. Add mushrooms, TVP, tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs, salt & pepper. Cook, stirring, a further 10-15mins, until the mixture has thickened slightly. Pour the tomato mix into the bottom of a large casserole dish. Top with the mashed potato, then sprinkle with Nutritional Yeast. Bake 15-20mins, until lightly browned on top.

So that's it from me tonight, hopefully I can maintain the momentum this time around, so watch out for more posts soon!