For lunch, pizza. A thin layer of nutritional yeasty sauce, a thick layer of BBQ sauce, chicken-style seitan, red capsicum and tomato. Andy's creation, modelled on BBQ Chicken pizza from his pregan days.
Potato salad. I made this last week, and Andy was so impressed with it he wanted me to make a huge batch to last us all week. It's simple, so I was happy to oblige. Chop and boil potatoes. Drain. Combine juice from 1 lime, about 2 T. vinegar, and 1/2 c. or so of oil. Pour over warm potatoes. Mix in 1-2 c. chopped cucumber, a handful of chopped coriander (cilantro for all the North Americans), and salt and pepper. Let it chill for at least an hour, but the longer the better. Voila! (And a pair of sunglasses and a pineapple in the background, because I'm a Queenslander. That's how we roll.)
We had the potato salad along with a North African inspired Lentil and Zucchini dish, based loosely on a recipe from the North African Vegetarian cookbook I got out of the library. We have, like, 1000 zucchinis because Andy and I both grabbed a bunch at the farmer's market, without realising until after we'd paid.
And finally, a new vegan product. I don't often buy things like this, because I am a tight ass, but it was on special for $2.40 (50% off!!) at Woolie's so I grabbed one. Sweet William Chocolate Spread. Dairy-free, nut-free, gluten-free, lactose-free. Apologies for the fuzzy picture.
The texture is like Betty Crocker Icing, and the flavour is super chocolatey. Delicious on a bit of fresh, soft baguette, and pretty good on toast as well. This spread is the perfect way to satisfy a sweet-tooth or a chocolate craving, and I don't feel too bad about doing it because of the bright red and yellow "60% less sugar" label. My only criticism is that the flavour is a little shallow. I guess I prefer my chocolate paired with something else--any sort of nuts, fruit, cinnamon, chilli--so a plain chocolate spread feels... unsophisticated. Still, totally worth $2.40! Maybe even worth the full price....
13 comments:
Good eats!
I can't remember if you've ever made vegan crepes. That choco spread and a banana would be a good crepe filling!
Just responded to your meme tag on my blog, by the way.
Well done Andy, that pizza looks fantastic. So does everything, actually! Glad the chicken-style seitan worked out and it's good to know about that chocolate spread. I'd seen it in the shop and wondered...As a vego I loved nutella, and now want to find a vegan replacement. :)
Sweet William Chocolate Spread looks so yummy .I wonder what they used to make it ,as it is, Dairy-free, nut-free, gluten-free, and lactose-free!
Amy, I was thinking the same thing. One time in Montreal I got the most delicious crepes with choc-banana filling and heaps of melty chocolate all over the top.....
Veganista, it won't stack up against Nutella, IMO, because it's nut-free. But it's definitely worth picking up.
Kumudha, I know, it's hard to imagine food that's free of so many things, but it's really just cocoa, sugar, and not much else!
Well first of all, I definitely approve of the half naked man pics in this post. Other than that, WOW that's a good looking pizza. It sounds so delicous. Maybe I'm just having pizza cravings but it sounds pretty much perfect.
I'm with Emmie - nice pictures! (-: The food looks great and I was wondering if the lentil dish called for peanuts - I have a couple of tasty African dishes (although none with lentils) and mine all seem to require peanuts or peanut butter. The first thing I thought of when I saw that chocolate spread was Nutella - it wouldn't be the same, but maybe a good substitute...?
Also, I have read part of Barbara Kingsolver's book, "Poisonwood Bible." I had to return it before I finished reading it but should probably check it out from the library again soon - thanks for the recommendation! (-;
i love the light in that pic with Andy, nice eye!
i love a good ol' potato salad. i have been wanting to make a vegenaise free potato salad. i may have to try out yrs.
mmm, that pizza looks amazing! love the BBQ-twist on the pizza toppings :0)
It's great that companies are coming out with vegan alternatives to popular spreads like Nutella, so that we vegans can still have a delicious chocolate-hazelnut spread!
Oooh, I don't remember the last time I had a chocolatey spread-like thingie. Ok, my vocabulary is going, but all your food looks wonderful, as usual!
Monika, there are no peanuts called for in the North African cookbook I've looked at. A few recipes had pistachios, and lots of capers and olives, but I think peanuts are slightly further south than this cookbook covers. I do love an African peanut stew, but it's nice to skip the nutty flavours and have a mix of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern sometimes :)
yum!! the food looks so good.
I have a bag of fake chicken in my freezer and I had been pondering what to do with it. I think I'm going to make up some pizza dough to freeze and have on hand for the upcoming weeks. Then I'll be able to throw together a BBQ pizza. I always liked to add a little red onion to mine as well. Yum!!!
Ooh chocolate spread?! Reminds me of when I used to eat nutella sandwiches...
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