Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Between seasons.

April is usually my favourite month in Townsville.  After several months of humid, 34 degree days, the April average of 30-ish feels wonderful; the rainy season has ended but the landscape is still lush and green.  Basically, it is what earns Townsville its status, in my opinion, as a freaking great place to live.

This year April hasn't been so great, though.  I don't know why, but the rain hasn't quite let go.  We've gotten a few heavy washes, and a few days of stupid drizzly weather.  Monday it was 22 degrees, which felt practically frigid.  But we have had some nice days, the kind of days I associate with April.  As a result of this funny back-and-forth weather, our meals have been shifting back and forth as well.

Wintry:

Sunday Roast Drumsticks from Vegan (see my review of this cookbook here).  These weren't super accurate, as we didn't know what tinned chestnuts are like so had trouble guessing on a substitution, but they were good anyways.  On the side, roasted brussels sprouts & green beans; just-wilted Ceylon spinach; and porcupine potatoes.


Summery:

Veggie Burgers with chips!  Andy picked up a pack of EatWell lentil burgers reduced-to-clear so we made bread rolls to have a proper burger-bar dinner.

I used my new pottery (more on this to come) to lay out a spread of beetroot-carrot slaw, guacamole, and salad.

Andy made Cajun-Spiced Chips from Vegan with a Vengeance which were amazing.

The result was a decidedly summery meal.

Wintry: 

Pumpkin Soup.  Actually, this is Pumpkin-Daal Soup from Urban Vegan and it was delicious.  Rich and creamy and amazingly flavoured, this warmed us up one cool evening.

On the side we had some sauteed brussels sprouts with rocket and balsamic.

Summery:

Morroccan Millet Bulgur Timbales, from Urban Vegan.  Topped with Easy Tahini Dressing from Urban Vegan.  Light and room temperature, with cold seitan roast on the side.

Wintry:

Pumpkin baked goods.  Following the recipe for The Best Pumpkin Muffins from Vegan with a Vengeance, I made muffins as well as bread.

Summery:

Coconut-Crusted Tofu with peanut satay sauce, based on a conglomeration of Urban Vegan recipes.  Although this was oven-baked, it was very tropical and felt light and summery.


Wintry:

Porridge.  

I kind of don't mind that the weather has been so variable, because it gives us a lot of variety with our meals!

7 comments:

x said...

Autumn is lovely! The weather here has been a bit all over the place too. It was lovely and chilly but sunny but this week it's been very warm in the afternoons.

I love the look of that coconut-crusted tofu and the soup, I am loving soups right now.

Hannah said...

What were the eatwell burgers like? I've tried their sausages, which taste like vegie patties rather than *meaty* sausages (for which I am grateful), but haven't tried these yet.

Also, how do you make your roasted brussels sprouts? I did some the other night with olive oil and maple, but they didn't taste quite how I wanted them to.

Lastly, that coconut-crusted tofu looks divine! I don't mind your crazy seasons either :P

Dee said...

Yum! It is a funny autumn, and I am so over getting rained on when I cycle!

It all looks great, I am drooling. I don't like winter much (I have become a real cold wimp) but I love soups. I am sold on the cookbooks, I am not a vegan, but it all sounds devine.

Lucyna Wegankiewiczowa said...

This porcupine potato looks like a big, fat worm...

Theresa said...

Hannah - they were better than we expected. Firm but not 'meaty', and they tasted a whole lot like celery. I wouldn't pay full price for them (more than $5 for four patties) but when they are on special or reduced to clear, we're going to stock up :)

Roasted sprouts are roughly from Vegan with a Vengeance, which involves cooking the sprouts at 200-ish for 20-ish minutes in olive oil, then mixing through some garlic and salt and roasting for another 10 or 20 minutes. We cook longer because we like them softer, and sometimes add other veggies. We've also done them with lemon juice and/or balsamic, but never considered maple syrup. Yum.

Vaala ◪ said...

Your April sounds like ours! One minute it's beautiful and sunny and the next it's blustery and pouring with rain. Okay, no real surprise for Auckland but still... Right now it's wet and grey-looking so all your wintery food looks so good, especially the soup. Ah soup, the one thing I really love about winter.

Carissa said...

EVERYTHING looks good especially the coconut crusted tofu! I love coconut anything!