Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Home again, home again

I've charged up the batteries and downloaded photos from before Canberra, and also taken some since I've been home. Here's what we've been eating...

Pasties, with a side salad.
The filling was a mixture of roasted sweet potatoes, leftover rice, kidney beans, leftover cheez sauce, and raw corn.
A tofu cheezcake. I got the recipe from the back of a silken tofu container. All it calls for is 3 packs of silken tofu (I cut the recipe down 2/3's and used one plain silken and one mango flavoured), sugar, lemon juice, liquid sweetener (golden syrup) and a crust. I used the granola nut crust from Ultimate Uncheese. The recipe said to bake for 40 minutes until it's set, but this was in the oven for probably twice as long. I came home the next day and Andy had left a significant dent on the cake, but hadn't bothered to cut pieces. So we just ate the rest of the cheezcake that way. It was pretty good, but would have been better with fruit on top.
A funny melon we found at a produce stand. It was lemon yellow outside, but white inside, with really runny seeds. The flavour was super sweet and less melon-y than a honeydew.
A black sapote milk shake made by Andy. Put some sapote and soy milk in a jar, shake like hell, and serve.

Now, the post Canberra food. SusanV's seitan ribz, Beets Me Potato salad, and raw salad. The ribs were made a month or so ago and frozen. The BBQ sauce is based on the Pomegranate BBQ recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance (which I now finally own, thanks so much to Anna). Instead of pomegranate molasses I used plum sauce, and instead of maple syrup I used golden syrup. Everything else was the same though, and this was GOOD. The raw salad is raw corn, basil from the garden, and tomato with a bit of sea salt and pepper. Chocolate cake. I used the recipe for Raspberry Blackout Cake with Ganache-y Icing from Vegan with a Vengeance. Instead of raspberry I used mashed banana, because we had some that needed using. I cut the recipe in half, and I didn't use any icing. At the last minute, Andy decided he wanted some raspberry, so I swirled some jam through the batter before baking. This cake is so moist and delicious.
Homemade salsa. Grilled green capsicum, fresh tomato and raw corn, with red chilli flakes (from the garden) and black pepper.
Layered together with some refried beans, Nacho Cheez sauce from Ultimate Uncheese, guac, and fresh coriander. The concept for this dinner was shamelessly stolen from Veganista's kitchen, but Townsville lacks some ingredients so I improvised. Served with corn chips (next time I'll buy the 'no salt added' ones, because they were SO SALTY!).
Last night's dinner, what Bazu would call "Veg on Veg". Leftover beet/potato salad. Tossed salad with lettuce, cucumber, mushrooms, green beans, capsicum, carrot, and avocado with a splash of Apple Balsamic Vinegar (reduced to clear for $2 a bottle). Jimmy Crack Corn Crack, from The Alternative Vegan by Dino, baked instead of fried. The baking made them a bit dry, so if I do them in the oven again I'll probably add some oil or coconut milk to the batter. And Sesame Asparagus from VwaV, roasted rather than sauteed, since the oven was on.
Thanks, Anna, for the cookbook! As you can see, I've been putting it to good use. I still can't believe it took me so long to get my hands on!

13 comments:

bazu said...

Yay, veg on veg!! All your food looks wonderful, actually, but I'm really attracted to that mango cheesecake. I don't think I've ever seen a flavored silken tofu around here, but that just sounds so wonderful.

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

welcome home! :0)

wow, the pasties, tofu cheezcake (I agree - a fruit topping on cheezcake seems to "complete" the dessert, rather than eating it plain); my goodness, ALL of your delicious dishes and treats look divine!! If I come to Australia, will you cook for me please?? haha.

Amy said...

Damn, what an impressive set of meals!

You have mango-flavored silken tofu? I've never seen that--but I want some!

What is sapote?

Anna said...

Yay! I loved this post. I was smiling goofily to myself the whole way through :)--so glad you are getting use out of the cookbook. And how yummy do your dishes look??!! I'd like to try that tofu cheesecake...haven't had a vegan one before.

Ashasarala said...

Yummy, yummy, yummy! The pasties sound so good and filling. My favourite, of course, is the chocolate cake. Especially with the raspberry jam. That sounds wonderful. ::daydreaming:: Gimme chocolate any day of the week!

Pink Theory said...

ooh yum! It all looks so good. I'm intrigued by the pastie and that refried bean dish with all the layers is a dish I could see myself loving! I'm drooling now. And what a great idea to throw in some jam in cake batter!

Anonymous said...

yum, this looks so good.

Lori- the Pleasantly Plump Vegan said...

everything looks so wonderful! i love how you guys decided to attack the cheezecake. y'all rock!

Amy said...

I <3 your cheesecake - that'd be what it would look like in my house!

Anonymous said...

Your cheesecake looks wonderful! I've never seen flavored tofu here before - unless it's a savory flavor like cilantro or chili.

I love vacationing but a part of me gets very excited to come home and start cooking again.

I agree with Andy - raw corn is delicious. Especially on salads.

JENNA said...

so many food picture! I love it! I wish I lived near you so I could steal the Pasties from you! yum!

vko said...

Cooking up some good stuff there! I need to work on some tofu cheesecake and yum, have not had nachos in forever....

Rose said...

Looks like you've been cooking some delicious food lately, everything looks very appetizing