Craving goodness

I went out 3 nights in a row this week and haven't been eating very well so tonight I really owed my body an infusion of fresh vegetables. I was feeling pretty lazy though, so I just flicked through my recipe books and chose the first easy recipe - cauliflower and broccoli with tomato sauce from The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook.

This was basically a creamy tomato sauce (cooked exactly the same way as a white sauce, but with tomatoes and onion added). When it was cooking I was highly sceptical - it looked quite strange. But once I put it all together & added a bit of salt & pepper the result was quite delicious. It's supposed to be a side dish, and it would be good with some kind of protein - maybe a soy schnitzel or something. I just feel better now that I've got some fresh goodness inside!This morning I met a girlfriend for breakfast at a new cafe/deli in Seddon - Luca Haus. I wouldn't recommend it for vegans or even vegetarians. The only non-meat option on the menu is the toast - it is from Noisette though, so very nice. There is one vegetarian option on the lunch menu - a korma pie (not vegan). Even the lunch baguettes all have meat - quite a strange thing these days.

The coffee is Jasper - nice and strong but slightly bitter. This is more of a deli/takeaway than a cafe with just one communal table. Nevertheless the atmosphere is lovely and the staff (probably the owners?) are very friendly.

The best thing about having Luca Haus in the west is that they sell Cocoa Rhapsody Chocolate. This is my all-time favourite vegan chocolate - made in Melbourne, organic & fair-trade, how can you go wrong! The only place I've ever seen it is at the St Kilda Veg Out market, which I only manage to get to every few months. I've just checked the new website too - they have lots of stockists now, so I'm a little bit excited. I was very restrained today - only buying a small Dark Nut Cove bar. Speaking of which, it's dessert time now :-)