tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-256697502024-03-13T21:11:47.943+10:00the tropical veganTheresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.comBlogger721125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25669750.post-51812457588872414012014-06-17T17:57:00.000+10:002014-06-17T17:57:01.939+10:00Blogging BreakOhai! You may have noticed from my absolute lack of posting that I'm not, you know, posting anymore. After 9 years of blogging, I kind of just need a break. I have really loved the community of vegans and other interesting people I have gotten to know, online and off, through this blog. Thanks to you all for your interaction and support over the years! I of course will leave everything here as an archive - I often use this site to find my recipes from the past, so I couldn't let that go!<br />
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I am still occasionally active on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TropicalVegan?fref=ts" target="_blank">Facebook</a> if you want to see food and/or garden photos, and the other social media that you can see on the sidebars - <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/theresainoz/" target="_blank">Flickr</a> & <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7119585-theresa" target="_blank">GoodReads</a>. So catch me there, or maybe I'll see you if I come back to this thing in the future.Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25669750.post-59835204424998114612014-04-09T09:33:00.001+10:002014-04-09T09:39:01.268+10:00Soft FoodsI have a tendency to deny that anything is wrong with me until it is really, really wrong. Like in 2010, when my <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2010/09/im-illness-denier.html" target="_blank">appendix</a> burst on a Monday morning and I didn't actually seek medical attention until Friday morning. The result is pretty much always worse than if it was dealt with promptly - after my appendix was removed I should have been out of hospital within a day, but I had to stay for a few while I was hooked in to antibiotics.<br />
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I've done it again, with a much less intrusive body part this time. I have bad teeth - not in a crooked sense, but in a cavity sense. I maintain good dental hygiene, but I grew up without fluoridated water and probably ate too much sugar as a child. I also didn't go to the dentist for several years, because last time I went the dentist was judgmental and mean.<br />
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I finally decided to bite the bullet, find a nice dentist, and get everything fixed. But between the first assessment appointment and my first fixing appointment, I got a terrible tooth ache. Enough to keep me awake 2 nights in a row. I had to get one of my wisdom teeth removed.<br />
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I had a few days of eating completely smooth things - pretty much exclusively pumpkin soup and smoothies. But after the anaesthetic wore off, I really craved something that I could chew. I don't know why - maybe the action makes it feel more like eating, and thus more satisfying. But these are some of the soft meals we came up with.<br />
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A chickpea & sweet potato tart, adapted from a recipe in <i>Let them eat Vegan! </i>This had a head of broccoli blended through it to maximise nutrition and flavour while minimising chunky bites. This meal served two dinners, since we only ate half on the first night (with potatoes). Here it is on the second go, served with some terrible looking "leftover fritters". Andy mixed up some leftover rice, leftover pumpkin soup, and leftover ful (like a dhal, but made with fava beans), and some frozen peas, and made them into patties. They were soft, rather than crunchy, and with small bites were very easy to eat.<br />
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Bangers and mash is another easy to eat meal. The veggie sausages we used are quite soft on their own, and again cutting them into small bites made them even easier to eat. And mashed potatoes are one of my ultimate comfort foods. On top, Andy whizzed together some hummus and pesto to make a gravy-like sauce.<br />
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For breakfast, I switched from drinkable smoothies to spoon-worthy ice creams. This one is simply a few frozen bananas, some frozen blueberries, and a scoop of tahini. Blended all together in the food processor, it was a yummy but really very healthy soft serve.<br />
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My new (nice) dentist is recommending that I have my other wisdom teeth removed in the near future, so I'll be on the lookout for more of these soft but not smooth recipes. Any suggestions?Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25669750.post-43909866080908753712014-04-06T11:41:00.000+10:002014-04-07T15:54:27.697+10:00Townsville's Vegan Revolution part 2: DegustingTownsville is coming ahead in leaps and bounds when it comes to veganism. Early this year I <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/townsvilles-vegan-revolution-part-1.html" target="_blank">discovered</a> the fabulous breakfast options at <a href="http://www.relishcafe.net/" target="_blank">relish</a>. Last week, we moved on to fine dining.<br />
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Vegans in Townsville have <a href="http://www.townsvillevegans.com/a-touch-of-salt-restaurant-review/" target="_blank">raved</a> about <a href="http://www.saltrestaurants.com.au/" target="_blank">A touch of Salt</a> before, but Andy and I rarely go out for dinner, so I hadn't got there yet. But when they advertised a 5 course vegetarian degustation dinner, I jumped at the chance. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From A touch of salt's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-touch-of-salt/169015053154105?fref=ts" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>. </td></tr>
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At $95 <i>each</i>, it was an awful lot more than we ever spend on food, but it seemed comparable to other degustations I have seen. And for 5 courses with 5 glasses of wine, I thought it would be worthwhile. I checked (and double checked) that there would be vegan options, and then we headed in to the city for dinner.</div>
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On arrival, we were greeted with a vegan prosecco - a nice and bubbly way to start the evening. As the waiter filled our flutes a second time, I mentioned again that we were after vegan meals. She said "the whole menu is vegan!". Which made me wonder if she was a little clueless, or if the feta I saw mentioned was actually made of tofu or something else. </div>
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As it turned out, the entire menu wasn't vegan, but there were vegan options for each course. After our first two glasses of prosecco, we had another vegan white wine, and then the first course came out. </div>
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Cubes of tofu were marinated in tamari, shiitake and and kombu, then tempura battered. The batter was so crispy and the tofu it encased was full of flavour. The marinade was turned into a gel on the side, and served up with more shiitake mushrooms, some leaves, and cauliflower. Underneath it all were some slices of peach. I hate peaches, so after trying a bite I gave these to Andy. Blergh.<br />
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Another glass of white wine came out, maybe a reisling (I can't remember much about the varieties, because I am a wine philistine), followed by the second course.<br />
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Seared corn bread with capsicum, herbs and lemon. The chef said he made the corn bread not with polenta, but with pureed corn. It was a bit chewier than a typical corn bread, but in a nice way. This course was the one with feta, which was just left off the vegan plates. It's a bit of a shame that they didn't put something in its place, but the dish was still good overall. The green puree was basil and mint, and was a really good accompaniment to the corn bread, as was the little dot of lemon puree.<br />
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After this course the chef came out, with his brother and father - A Touch of Salt is owned and run by the Brine family. I made the connection with the restaurant's name halfway through dinner, after a few glasses of wine made my thinking clearer I guess!<br />
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Then the waiters came out with red wine, a shiraz of some kind. Andy and I are both not huge fans of red wine, but this was mild and quite nice. And it went really very well with the third course.<br />
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This was a little gallette of purple sweet potato and pumpkin, topped with amaranth greens and crispy little sweet potato shreds (we thought they were red cabbage at first. This was sitting in a bed of 'white gazpacho', which was creamy and rich. The grapes were a good tart garnish to go with the sweet but savoury gallette.<br />
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The next glass of wine was another red, this one a GSM. It was really bitey and we didn't like it so much that neither of us drank ours. The meal it came with, though, was a different story.<br />
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A mushroom and smoked eggplant wellington with beetroot pave. Though Andy and I both loved the tofu tempura in course 1 with a vengeance, as a whole dish we both thought this was the standout of the meal. The mushroom was meaty, the pastry was flaky, and the butter bean puree was like a beautiful creamy gravy. The dot of orange puree went best with the beetroot pave.<br />
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The dessert wine was super sweet, and was quite a nice way to finish off the meal. The dessert it accompanied was also sweet, though almost on the verge of too sweet.<br />
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The menu announced a carrot and coconut weiss bar, but this must have contained something not vegan. A few minutes after everyone else got theirs, Andy and I were presented with a very different looking dish. A ramekin held two caramel rice beignets, little sweet fritters. These sat in a soup of carrot puree, with a puddle of coconut yogurt underneath. The puree was like baby food + a whole lot of sugar. The dessert was good, but after the first four courses I was expecting something a bit more sophisticated with a bit more going on flavour-wise.<br />
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Overall, we loved the whole meal and both thought it was well worth the money and the effort of going out in the evening, and all the way into the city (I'm poking fun at our homebody-ness here!). Each dish was full of a variety of flavours that played off each other perfectly. And none of it was like anything we cook at home, which is a win when going out to eat. Plus, we now have a place to suggest when Andy's parents visit and want to go somewhere nice for dinner.</div>
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Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25669750.post-7096692267789880392014-03-22T12:49:00.001+10:002014-03-22T12:49:34.024+10:00Chutney x A LOTA few weeks ago when we went to the market, our mango people told us that was their last week for the season. So we bought double our usual and went home to make chutney. This wasn't something we had really thought through very carefully, the results of which I will reveal as I go through my chutney tale.<br />
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In the past we have used a <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2012/12/mango-chutney.html" target="_blank">chutney recipe</a> that requires soaking overnight. This was Sunday morning and we had to work on Monday, so that wasn't going to work. I did a quick search, and found <a href="http://www.notquitenigella.com/2013/02/01/made-from-scratch-mango-chutney/" target="_blank">a recipe from Not Quite Nigella</a> that looked do-able, so we used that as our guide.<br />
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Her recipe called for 1 kilo of mango flesh, or about 2 large mangoes. We obviously wanted to make a larger batch to use up plenty of mangoes, so we started cutting and scooping them into a bowl on the scale. About 15 mangoes later, we were at 3 kilos - so I think the original estimate of 2 mangoes = 1 kilo of flesh is just not right.<br />
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We put the firmest mango cheeks through the shredder blade on the food processor, and chopped up the softer, riper cheeks. We popped this all into our big stockpot, and then realised we had almost no space for anything else. Wah-wahhh.<br />
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And because we tripled the recipe, we had nowhere near enough brown sugar, or raisins. We had no onions. We scraped in with just enough cider vinegar. But we realised that Andy would need to go to the shops. He had wanted to run to Bunnings for some seeds anyways, so, perfect.<br />
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Because I was expecting Andy back in about 30 minutes, I put everything that we had into a bowl and mixed it all up. Then I put it into two pots to start to simmer, to allow the sugar which we did have to dissolve a bit. Then I cleaned up - chopped up the mango skins so they would compost a bit quicker, gave a few of the seeds to Tika, who loves to suck the flesh off them, and wiped so much mango juice off of every surface. I even did all the dishes.<br />
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Over an hour later, I was beginning to wonder if Andy got lost or sucked into some sort of space-time vortex. He sort of did - in Townsville on Sundays, shops don't open until 11am, and he left the house a touch before 10. So although he spent plenty of time in Bunnings, he still had to wait outside the grocery store for it to open.<br />
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But eventually he did make it home. By that time the chutney had simmered down enough to fit back into the one pot. We added the onions and the last few bits and pieces, plus a whack of chilli sauce because it was so sweet, cooked it properly, and then got ready to can it.<br />
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We ended up with 13 and a half jars of this stuff - about 9 litres worth of chutney. The full ones we processed properly and put them away to last us throughout the year. But for dinner that night it seemed appropriate to have the little half jar with some curry.<br />
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I made chappatis, sag paneer (spinach and tofu curry), and we had some leftover dhal, with brown rice and, at the front, our chutney.<br />
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Sure, it was an epic process, but the memories of scooping 15 mangoes, stirring a simmering pot of chutney, and cleaning up all the sticky mess will fade as we enjoy our spoils for the next few months!Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25669750.post-72447709986847318372014-03-02T14:37:00.001+10:002014-03-02T14:37:29.563+10:00Green CurryRemember when I made <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/garden-party.html" target="_blank">curry paste</a>?<br />
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Well, we finally used it in a curry. It was quite mild - probably due to the painstaking time I spent de-seeding the green chillies. It tasted very lime-y, which is good and tangy.<br />
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The curry had tofu sticks and carrots (bought), sweet potato, eggplants, cowpeas, eggplant, sweet potato shoots and hibiscus spinach (all from the garden). We served it on brown rice and topped it with some crunchy shallots. And from-scratch curry becomes an easy weeknight meal.Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25669750.post-14661770737498471632014-02-23T10:39:00.001+10:002014-02-23T10:39:52.047+10:00Milking OatsMuch less grope-y than milking goats.<br />
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After more than three years of busy service to us, our soy milk maker has pretty much carked it (see my posts on it <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2010/07/milking.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2010/08/thoughts-on-soy-milk-making.html" target="_blank">he<u>re</u></a>). We looked at getting new ones, but the idea of choosing was a bit overwhelming and we have put it at the back of our minds. (But if you're in Australia and can recommend a good brand or model, we would be happy to take suggestions.)<br />
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Instead, we've been making oat milk. It's no substitute for bought-milk in tea, but it does the trick on a bowl of cereal. Here's what we do:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We get two of these jugs of milk, plus about 2 cups of pulp from each batch.</td></tr>
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Combine 1 1/2 cups of rolled oats, 1 tsp of desiccated coconut, and 1 tsp of raw sugar in a jug. Add 1 litre of water, and let it soak for about 30 minutes. Then blend it all up - I use a stick blender - for a few minutes. Pour this through a fine strainer and scoop out the thick oat pulp. Pour it into containers, and then I add enough water to fill the jugs - our typical batch is about 2.5 litres of oat milk. You can add less if you prefer it thicker. The milk lasts in the fridge for about a week.<br />
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But what to do with the 2 cups or so of sticky, wet oat pulp that comes along with the milk? You could throw it away, or compost it, or feed it to the dog. But we've been playing around with adding it to things. We've mixed it into lentil loafs and burgers, but it makes them go a bit gluey in texture.<br />
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More successful were these nutella brownie bites - 200 grams of hazlenuts whizzed up in the food processor, then a cup of dates, half a cup of oat pulp, and 1/4 cup of cocoa powder. They were a bit wetter than they should have been, but the oat pulp was a good way of cutting through the sweetness of the dates that sometimes overwhelms raw balls.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I pushed some into silicon cupcake liners, and made some into balls.</td></tr>
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Oat pulp is also a pretty fab addition to baking. I made some banana-oat muffins and bread, using oat pulp in place of half the mashed bananas. I don't know the nutrition content, but I'm sure it adds a boatload of fibre and cuts down a little on the (natural, and not bad-for-you) sugar in the bananas.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/theresainoz/12707551924/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Sunday baking by theresainoz, on Flickr"><img alt="Sunday baking" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7325/12707551924_cbb2f618f7.jpg" height="375" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The banana-oat things are in the background of our Sunday lunch of veggie sausages wrapped in bread dough. </td></tr>
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What is your favourite kind of milk to make? What do you do with the leftover pulp?<br />
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<br />Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25669750.post-88288635033859200492014-02-19T15:27:00.001+10:002014-02-19T15:27:49.421+10:00Garden PartySince work has gotten busy again (evidenced by my paltry posting), the last thing I want to do is spend hours in the grocery store. I'm still happy to hang out in the kitchen for hours, but something about fighting the crowds under artificial lights as terrible music floats through the air just doesn't appeal to me! So while we are of course still shopping for things we need, we have been making serious use of the garden whenever we can.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jSif8P_orLk/UwQ256tPLWI/AAAAAAAAB9w/db3cwDuMfck/s1600/P2180009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jSif8P_orLk/UwQ256tPLWI/AAAAAAAAB9w/db3cwDuMfck/s1600/P2180009.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's our garden looking particularly lush after 200 mm of rain.</td></tr>
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I'm not sure if you can make out the mulched garden bed in the middle right-hand side. It used to have a big cherry tomato, some dying kale, and a fruitless watermelon. Andy decided to clear the bed, put some compost in and let it rest for a few weeks before we plant again. So we harvested all the cherry tomatoes and made spaghetti.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cherry tomatoes, olive oil, basil and garlic. Yummm.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With some lentil balls, in the background.</td></tr>
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Our eggplant bushes fruit prolifically, and the skinny fruits are delicious cooked on the BBQ in a mixture of soy sauce, chilli and brown sugar. On the side, some malabar spinach - a tropical vine that grows well in the humidity. (And some no-fu love loaf.)</div>
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Our basil plants are another fast-grower, and we have made a few batches of pesto. Unlike <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/pesto-factory.html" target="_blank">last year</a>, now that I have a grown-up-sized food processor, pesto is a snap.<br />
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It might seem from this post that we eat an awful lot of pasta. That is correct.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pesto pasta with eggplants and olives.</td></tr>
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We've also, though, taken to making bowls of whatever we can gather, plus what we have from the markets. In this peanut-lentil stew, we have eggplants, cowpeas (aka black-eyed peas, but when they are still green in the pod), and garlic chives from the garden, plus some sweet potatoes from the market and a tin of tomatoes. Served over rice, with a big squirt of sriracha, this was a delicious rainy-day meal.<br />
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The garden has also thrown up some curry-related delights. On Sunday I picked a big handful of green chillies, some lemon grass, and some lime leaves, and blended them up with dried spices to make 6 dinners' worth of curry paste - <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/greencurrypaste_67789" target="_blank">green</a> and <a href="http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/recipe/easy-homemade-curry-pastes" target="_blank">jalfrezi</a> - to have throughout the next few weeks. I filled the jars just a little, with one meal's worth of curry paste, so that we can store them in the freezer until we're ready.<br />
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We haven't yet tried one of these in an actual curry, but I prefer them to store-bought because it means I don't have to go to the store!<br />
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Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25669750.post-90080382072947937002014-01-31T14:01:00.002+10:002014-01-31T14:01:24.798+10:00Storming the FreezerLast night a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-31/cyclone-dylan-makes-landfall-in-north-queensland/5229340" target="_blank">cyclone</a> crossed the coast. For the first part of the week, it looked like it was coming pretty much straight at Townsville. I have lived here for nearly 7 years, and while I'm not a local nor a meteorologist, I have seen several cyclones heading straight for Townsville that end up going elsewhere when push comes to shove. So we got prepared by cleaning up the back yard but didn't get too worked up. Good thing, too, because it ended up heading 200kms south of us, and we saw less than 40mm of rain at our house.<br />
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One of the things we figured out <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2011/02/cyclone-yasi-preparing-for-worst.html" target="_blank">during</a> <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2011/02/cyclone-yasi-weathering-storm.html" target="_blank">Cyclone</a> <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2011/02/cyclone-yasi-cleaning-up.html" target="_blank">Yasi</a>, which is rarely given out in official advice, is to eat anything precious from the freezer, so that if the power goes out for a few days you don't have to throw it away. So this week we had a few freezer based dinners. We still have rather a lot in there, but now there is plenty of space for a new batch of ice cream...<br />
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We tried some Fry's vegan burgers, which were good but not worth full price. They were delicious with some cherry tomatoes, cooked down with olive oil and garlic.<br />
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Here we have tofu (from the freezer) marinated with teriyaki and chilli sauce, spring rolls (from the freezer), BBQ pineapple, and fried rice with capsicum (from the freezer) and eggplant, green beans, cherry tomatoes, sweet potato shoots and baby kale (all from the garden).<br />
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When our mulberry tree gets ripe fruit on it, we pick them and stick them in a container in the freezer, till we have enough for something yummy. This container spent an overnight with some oats to become a yummy breakfast. <br />
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And for lunch I brought a chickpea naan roll to work, inspired by <a href="http://flickingthevs.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/naan-bread-feel-fear-and-cook-it-anyway.html" target="_blank">Joey's</a> link to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jul/19/dan-lepard-naan-coconut-naan-chickpea-naan" target="_blank">Dan Lepard's recipe</a> - but with a slightly different filling.<br />
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None of this made a massive dent in the freezer stash - we still have about 15 naan rolls, a few boxes of Fry's, a bag of frozen capsicum, 6 blocks of tofu, and other random things. But if any more cyclones form in the coming months, at least we've made a start!Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25669750.post-3689177399070179752014-01-27T17:14:00.000+10:002014-01-27T17:14:09.771+10:00Cocktail BarTell me: is there much better than a cold, refreshing beverage in dessert form? There may well be - in fact, I'm certain there are many things that are much, much better. But after sweating it out around the house on Saturday and Sunday, waiting for the rain which didn't come, biting into this cool, tangy Mojito Slice was pretty much as good as I could ask for. And afterwards, the rain started, so it was doubly good.<br />
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This slice can thank a recipe for Mojito Bars from <i>Betty Goes Vegan</i> for its inspiration. I fully intended to make <i>that</i> recipe. But the thought of having the oven on for 40 to 50 minutes was repulsive, and my mind quickly turned to Kari's <a href="http://www.bitesizedthoughts.com/2012/06/lemon-slice-for-modern-afternoon-tea.html" target="_blank">vegan lemon slice</a> recipe. I had made them <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/blogger-baking.html" target="_blank">before</a> so I knew the recipe was a keeper, and was sure it would hold up to a few alterations. So this recipe is really Kari's, as I've done little but change the flavours. But they sure are good flavours. I thought at first the base would work as a no-bake option, but on pressing it into the pan I decided to bear the oven for 10 minutes, and I'm glad I did.<br />
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<b>Mojito Slice</b><br />
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1 c. oats<br />
1/4 c. brown sugar<br />
2 Tbsp. vegan butter<br />
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1/4 c. flour<br />
1/4 c. corn flour<br />
1 c. sugar<br />
up to 1 c. water<br />
3 Tbsp. white rum<br />
1 Tbsp. fresh mint, finely chopped<br />
zest and juice from 2 or 3 limes<br />
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Line a slice pan with baking paper and heat the oven to 180 (350F). In a food processor or mini chopper, whizz up the oats and sugar until they look like coarse flour. Add the butter, and let the processor run until it's fully incorporated. You could add water if it looks really crumbly, but I didn't need to. Press it into the lined pan, using wet hands to keep the mix from being sticky. Bake it for 10 minutes and then let it cool while you make the topping.<br />
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In a measuring jug, combine the rum, mint and lime zest. Juice the limes into the jug. I used one large, juicy lime and 2 small, kinda dry limes. All up, it should come to about 1/2 cup of juice and rum combined. If you have more than 1/2 cup, use a bit less water in the next step.<br />
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In a small saucepan, whisk together the flour, corn flour and sugar. Slowly add the water and whisk until smooth. Bring it up to a boil, whisking constantly, and then turn the heat to low and cook it for a few minutes - up to 5. It will get really thick, but soon you will add more liquid, so no need to worry. Whisk in the lime juice mixture with the pan over the heat, then when everything is incorporated take it off the heat. Pour this over the cooked base. Refrigerate the whole thing for a while - overnight is best, really. Keep it chilled until you're ready to eat it, and remember that the alcohol doesn't really cook off!<br />
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<b><br /></b>Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25669750.post-64546950216216911432014-01-18T09:48:00.002+10:002014-01-18T09:48:21.561+10:00Vegan CarbonaraAs I <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/2013-review.html" target="_blank">promised</a> at the very end of last year, I have made another batch of Carbonara so I can post the recipe here.<br />
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Carbonara is one of those dishes that a lot of people seem to love, but I had never even heard of before I went vegan. So I have no reference point to compare it to. But somewhere along the way I picked up the key ingredients - egg yolks, bacon, cream and pasta. Not super vegan friendly? Think again.<br />
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We had some <a href="http://thevegg.com/" target="_blank">Vegg</a> in the freezer (we blend up the whole packet and freeze in smaller jars), and some imitation bacon bits (fully vegan) that my mum sent over as a birthday present. So the food miles for this are not small! It's not an every week kind of meal, but it is easy, and fast, filling, and really delicious. And unlike chicken's eggs, the Vegg won't "scramble" if you leave it on the heat for too long, so there is less multi-tasking with the vegan version of Carbonara.<br />
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<b>Vegan Carbonara</b><br />
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1 Tbsp. olive or coconut oil<br />
3 cloves of garlic, minced<br />
300 grams of mushrooms, thickly sliced<br />
1 Tbsp. vegan bacon bits<br />
1/2 c. prepared Vegg<br />
100 mL coconut cream, soy milk or other non-dairy substitute<br />
400 grams of pasta<br />
parsley, salt and pepper, nutritional yeast, and more bacon bits for sprinkling<br />
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Heat the oil in a frying pan over pretty high (not quite the highest) heat. Saute the mushrooms until they are soft and the liquid has evaporated from them. The high heat helps evaporation to happen faster, so your mushrooms brown instead of boiling in their weird mushroom water. Stir in the garlic and bacon bits and mix it all around for a minute. Add Vegg and soy milk and turn the heat to low and leave it, stirring every now and then, while your pasta cooks. Boil water (boiling in the kettle is more efficient than the stove, I hear), cook spaghetti or other pasta until it is <i>al dente</i>, or mushy if that's your thing. Drain, dump it into the pan with the sauce, and stir it all up. If it's a bit claggy, throw in some more soy milk. It should be creamy and saucy and good. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve with parsley, nutritional yeast, and moar bacon bits.<br />
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It's worthing getting some Vegg for this - which reminds me, I need to order some more. I honestly will probably never attempt a <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/the-vegg.html" target="_blank">vegan poached egg</a> again, but Vegg makes a rocking carbonara.Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25669750.post-1163335489651471032014-01-10T09:58:00.002+10:002014-01-10T09:58:47.785+10:00Townsville's vegan revolution: Part 1Before I went vegan, I <i>loved</i> going out for breakfast. So much so that whenever I went to diners that offered breakfast after 11am, I would usually choose a morning meal no matter the time of day. I almost always ordered french toast, but sometimes pancakes or waffles. Generally sweet things!<br />
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Upon going vegan, I had to shift my breakfast-excursions to savoury. In small diners I would order toast or a bagel with home fries and whatever veggie was around, and then usually construct myself a vegan breakfast sandwich. As I was a university student, these breakfast-excursions usually involved a hangover, and the greasy starches quite suited the circumstances, perhaps in a way that sweet breakfast would not.<br />
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I still love going out for breakfast, but in Townsville the options are pretty limited. When we do go out, I almost always have to put together a plate of sides - toast, baked beans, mushrooms (if they're not cooked in butter), spinach or avocado. It's pretty satisfying usually. The last time I went out for breakfast, though, was with Andy and some friends, and we didn't realise it was Father's Day until we were out. Our first few attempts were thwarted by completely booked-out cafes. We eventually found a spot at one, I tried to order the vegetarian breakfast with no eggs but was told that customers are not allowed to go off-script. So I ordered the usual sides, but when the baked beans came out they had sausage mixed in. So I was a bit traumatised, and we hadn't been out for breakfast since.<br />
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Fast forward to a few days ago. On a local food-related Facebook groups, there was a discussion about vegan breakfasts that brought a new(?) cafe called <a href="http://www.relishcafe.net/">relish.</a> to my attention. The owner said she had vegan granola, oats, and the plate-of-sides. I clicked "Like" on their page, and put the information away for the future.<br />
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The next day, relish. posted this on their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/relishtownsville?fref=ts">Facebook page</a>.<br />
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This is fairly revolutionary. Though Townsville is a city of 200,000 or so, the vegan options here are more limited than you would expect. Andy's small hometown of 5,000 in southern NSW has more vegan options. As you can imagine, it is mighty exciting to see a cafe write the word vegan anywhere on a menu, and to advertise it so blatantly. So I mentioned it to Andy and said "Let's go!!". And he said (surprisingly), "Okay, how bout tomorrow?".<br />
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And so, this morning, vegan waffles were had.<br />
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They came with two sides, so I got the mushrooms and baked beans. Perhaps not the most typical accompaniments to sweet waffles, but I didn't feel like waffles + toast. Everything was good! The mushrooms tasted a touch like vinegar, which is a flavour I love but rarely add to mushrooms when we make them. The baked beans were sweeter and more barbequey than most Aussie breakfast baked beans I've had. And the waffles were crunchy and went nicely with the berries & pomegranate syrup I ordered with them. Relish, if you read this, you should absolutely make them a permanent menu item! And/or veganise those cornmeal pancakes, because I would totally be all over that.<br />
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I will definitely come back here - in fact, when it's a bit cooler, it will be a lovely bike ride destination. I noticed bike parking around the side. Most of the tables are outside, and there are plenty of them. There was a cute but really cheeky and persistent sparrow who hung out on our table and really had no fear of humans. They have, in the style of American diners, bottomless drip coffee for $4 with any meal. It's a tad pricey, but I thought it was good value for money (but we almost never go out to eat, so maybe in comparison to other places it's not even pricey?). Loads of gluten free options.<br />
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Relish. also has two vegan-isable burgers on their lunch menu, but who needs lunch when they have all-day breakfast with vegan waffles?!<br />
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<i>Relish. Cafe</i><br />
2 Kingsway Place<br />
Next door to Townsville Bulletin office on Flinders St West (across from Fletcher St)<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Folks Light'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">Monday & Tuesday </span><span style="font-family: 'Folks Light'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">6.30am - 2.30pm; </span><span style="font-family: 'Folks Light'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">Wednesday - Friday </span><span style="font-family: 'Folks Light'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">6.30am - 3.30pm; </span><span style="font-family: 'Folks Light'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">Weekends & Holidays </span><span style="font-family: 'Folks Light'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">7.30am - 3pm</span></span><br />
<br />Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25669750.post-71372321532067668072014-01-06T11:12:00.000+10:002014-01-06T11:12:12.644+10:00WavesWhile North America is getting buried under piles of snow, and shivering through below-zero temperatures, we Queenslanders are sweating our butts off. It's a <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/southeast-queensland-heatwave-nine-new-temperature-records-set/story-fnihsrf2-1226794637096" target="_blank">heat wave</a> here, much worse for others than for us in Townsville. I actually quite like summers in Townsville. Though it's hot and humid, it's steady. You can be pretty sure that the temperature will never really get above 34. Most of the time. But still, I'll take this over 49 degrees any day! For non-celsiusers, that's 120 degrees F!!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From <a href="http://www.weatherzone.com.au/qld/lower-burdekin/townsville" target="_blank">weatherzone</a></td></tr>
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But just because it's hotter somewhere else doesn't make 33+ days pleasant to deal with! We have ways of coping - for example, setting up a kitteh-fan that Nacho lays in front of.<br />
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Another method is cooking barely. Sure, raw foods would make the most sense on the hottest days. But growing vegetables in North Queensland in the summer is pretty limited, so we would have to do our shopping at the supermarkets and pay lots of money. So we get what we can locally, eat some things from the garden and the freezer, and look for reduced-to-clear items at the shops.<br />
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And so this dinner was born, requiring very little time in the kitchen. Lime & mustard tofu with okra, garlic bread, and salad (in the background). The tofu was reduced to clear at Woolworths. It's the "momen" tofu, the kind that is firm but jiggly. The garlic bread was also reduced to clear, as was the baby cos lettuce that formed the base of the salad. The okra, and the other salad ingredients - cherry tomatoes, basil, and some green beans - come from the garden. We cooked it all on the BBQ, for minimum-effort-cooking.<br />
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<b>Lime & Mustard Tofu</b><br />
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500 grams firm tofu<br />
2 Tbsp. soy sauce<br />
2 Tbsp. lime juice<br />
2 Tbsp. olive oil<br />
2 Tbsp. mustard - I used half dijon and half whole grain<br />
1 tsp. sugar<br />
1 tsp. dried basil<br />
1 tsp. dried thyme<br />
salt and pepper to taste<br />
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Slice the tofu into 1cm slabs and put them in a baking tray or shallow dish. Whisk together all the other ingredients. Pour over the tofu. Let it marinate for an hour or more. Cook in the pan with the sauce on the BBQ over medium-high heat for about 20 minutes, checking to see if you need to add a bit of water to keep the sauce from burning. Or bake at 190 (375F) for 20 to 25 minutes. Or, take it out of the marinade and cook it straight on the grill or in a skillet for a few minutes on each side.Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25669750.post-2086769408909823592014-01-04T08:30:00.000+10:002014-01-04T08:30:01.391+10:00ProcessingThose of you who follow <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TropicalVegan" target="_blank">The Tropical Vegan</a> on Facebook will know that, for my birthday in November, Andy got me a food processor.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For my birthday, I had my heart set on a cherry pie (with hippo crust decor, obvi). I nearly bought cherry pie filling from <a href="http://www.usafoods.com.au/" target="_blank">USA Foods</a>, then saw the recipe for cherry pie in <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pies-Tarts-Heart-Pie-Building-Techniques/dp/1592538460" target="_blank">Pies and Tarts with Heart</a></i> so decided to make my own.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BIG MISTAKE. Frozen cherries in Australia are NOT the sour cherries that make cherry pie so delicious. It was good pie, but it wasn't <i>cherry pie</i>, not really. My craving continues. </td></tr>
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It's a Cuisinart, which he found on sale through some online place, and I don't know how much it costed because it was a gift! But I do know that I love it. It has made possible some dishes we couldn't really do before, and made lots easier plenty of things we did in other ways. (Like <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/pesto-factory.html" target="_blank">massive batches of pesto</a>... in a mini chopper!)<br />
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Here I will just brag about one meal, in which just about every ingredient went through the processor - because if you're gonna use it, you might as well <i>use it</i>, right? Washing it all up feels less onerous that way.<br />
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Step one: chop a red onion, some garlic, and a head of broccoli in the processor until they're pretty finely chopped, then saute.<br />
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Put it into a pie crust. I should have really made my own, which is easy now with a food processor, but I wasn't organised enough to get my ingredients into the freezer to be really cold, and it's so hot in Townsville at the moment this is kind of crucial. Plus we're trying to empty out our freezer a tad so we can defrost it, so I used bought pastry.<br />
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Then put some tofu and a few other things into the processor and, as Jamie Oliver would say, "wazz it up". (He really drives me crazy, but I still watch his show. Some of his recipes are actually good, too!) I used <a href="http://urbanvegan.net/" target="_blank">Dynise's</a> recipe for quiche from her pie book.<br />
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Pour the custard over the filling, then pop it on the BBQ. I've mentioned 'baking' on the BBQ a few times, but here is what I mean. We have a trivet to keep things away from the direct heat a bit. The temperature needs to be a bit lower than the recipe calls for - this pie got up to the called-for 200 for maybe 5 minutes but still managed to burn a tiny bit on the bottom. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We have the middle sized Weber Q with the high lid and temp gauge. Good size for baking!</td></tr>
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While the quiche is cooking, put the shredder blade on the processor and push some potatoes through. <br />
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Mix it all up with some flour and other stuff - we used the recipe for Baked Latkes from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Betty-Goes-Vegan-Classic-Recipes/dp/1455509337" target="_blank">Betty Goes Vegan</a> - and form into patties. Put them on a baking tray (along with two okras, if your garden is producing in a very slow manner, like ours...) and when the quiche is done, put these on the BBQ. They took 15 or 20 minutes, and I flipped once.<br />
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The quiche needs to rest for 20 minutes, so this works out perfectly. <br />
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The quiche turned out really well - it set beautifully but wasn't claggy, like some recipes can be.<br />
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The latkes were crunchy on the outside and soft inside. I think using a food processor makes it much easier to make hash brown-type potato recipes -- when shredding by hand, the potatoes seem to let off a lot more liquid than they do when machine-shredded.<br />
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And it's dinner time! This was a very little effort meal, and all cooked outside - perfect for the heat wave we're going through.<br />
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And for dessert, something I food processed on an earlier day - chocolate mousse tart. The food processor makes it so much easier to crush gingernut biscuits for the crust, and the mousse was silky and smooth. It was just four ingredients, too - 6 tablespoons of soy milk, 200 grams of chocolate, 250 grams of silken tofu and 400mL of coconut milk. After melting together the soy milk and chocolate (which was practically melted after sitting on the counter for an hour), wazz it up with the tofu and coconut milk. Andy thought I did it wrong, because the mixture was so runny, but after a few hours in the fridge, it becomes a rich, velvetty mousse.<br />
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This is probably the best birthday present Andy's ever got me, and he has enjoyed the products of it as much as I have!Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25669750.post-14391449415534822332014-01-02T10:24:00.000+10:002014-01-03T08:50:20.837+10:00Self-CateringOn our recent trip to Tasmania (post <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/in-hobart.html" target="_blank">1</a>, <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/huon-trail.html" target="_blank">2</a> and <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/tasman-peninsula.html" target="_blank">3</a>) we stayed in an apartment we found on <a href="https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/706423" target="_blank">AirBnB</a> with a full kitchen. Or - mostly full. There was no chopping board, nor was there a colander. But there was a gravy boat, so... It came with a big container of tea bags, instant coffee (blech) and sugar satchets, and we found a pepper grinder (but no salt). Otherwise, the cupboards were bare.<br />
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I thought I should do a blog post on self-catering holidays, since it is our favourite way to travel. I enjoy eating out quite a lot, and Andy likes it less, but we both don't love to do it for the entire holiday. Since we flew to Tasmania, we couldn't bring our own food, so we got a bit creative. The week's meals costed more than a week of eating at home would, but much less than eating out all the time. They were a bit carb heavy, but we did so much walking we needed all the fuel. I was going to go all detailed about what we bought and how we did it, but I kind of can't remember now, and it would get boring, so I'll just list the meals instead!<br />
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Our first meal was mushroom pasta - reduced-to-clear mushrooms sauteed in Nuttelex, mixed with a jar of sauce, and that's that. I didn't take a photo, because it was nothing special.<br />
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The next morning for breakfast we had porridge, made with little packets of sugar from the tea canister, and flavoured with peanut butter. It wasn't great! We bought raisins to make the porridge more tasty the rest of the trip.<br />
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At the Salamanca Markets on Saturday, we bought some dukkah, a lemon, and a big cauliflower. For dinner that night, we sauteed half the cauliflower in lemon juice and butter, and then mixed it with pasta and dukkah. It looked like beige mush but was really quite tasty.<br />
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On Sunday we went to the Farm Gate markets and got some more fresh produce - another small cauliflower, some baby bok choy, purple carrots, fresh garlic, broad beans and potatoes. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Purple carrots with a yellow middle.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Broad beans take time to prepare, but they're worth it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our veggies needed some pepping up after the day at the brewery.</td></tr>
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So we had a Sunday Roast - potatoes, cauliflower, garlic and carrot, with some fresh broad beans, gently blanched, and reduced-to-clear vegan aioli.<br />
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For breakfast one morning, we had the remaining mushrooms with a block of tofu and some garlic, perfect with toast.<br />
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One night we had chilli beans on toast - a tin of kidney beans, a tin of tomatoes, come cauliflower and garlic mixed with one of those instant-sauce packets for "chilli con carne".<br />
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Another day we had sloppy peanut noodles with tofu, garlic, cauliflower and bok choy. For this we used a bottle of "singapore satay sauce" from the "ethnic foods" aisle, topped up with extra peanut butter, obviously. I ate so much and it was so good. <br />
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And one night we had reduced-to-clear kale sauteed up with some garlic, a jar of chickpeas, and the rest of the aioli as a sauce. <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YOEITEP47pU/UsSmrivsc4I/AAAAAAAAB3Y/2m9gZDezrok/s1600/IMG_1152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YOEITEP47pU/UsSmrivsc4I/AAAAAAAAB3Y/2m9gZDezrok/s400/IMG_1152.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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With some yummy bread on the side.<br />
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My main advice for self-catering holidays is to plan ahead a bit, but not too far - if you buy food for every meal at the start of the trip, you might waste a lot if you decide to eat out, or you have a late lunch and don't feel all that hungry for a big dinner. Choose things that can do multiple tasks, like peanut butter for satay, and for porridge, and for toast. Rely more on convenience foods, but pair them with gorgeous local produce whenever you can!<br />
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<span id="goog_849598720"></span><span id="goog_849598721"></span>Do you like to self-cater on holidays? What are your tips?Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25669750.post-65271805171691219772013-12-29T11:56:00.001+10:002013-12-29T11:56:54.633+10:002013: reviewIt's late December, which means it's time for the obligatory look back on the year. 2013 was a busy but rewarding year for me. Let's skim through some of the highlights (and lowlights) before I see how I went with my resolutions and look forward to 2014, shall we?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7fZJQf_ghj0/Ur9_LRrJeOI/AAAAAAAAB2U/yn0ajA6rdTQ/s1600/DSC00007+(11).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7fZJQf_ghj0/Ur9_LRrJeOI/AAAAAAAAB2U/yn0ajA6rdTQ/s320/DSC00007+(11).JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Every day is Boxing Day for Nacho. </td></tr>
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In 2013, I made my own <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/stank-buster.html" target="_blank">deodorant</a>, figured out how to make <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/mochi-without-microwave.html" target="_blank">mochi</a> on the stove top, made <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/queensland-jam.html" target="_blank">jam</a>, made <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/diy-sponges.html" target="_blank">sponges</a>, and ate <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/hey-buddy.html" target="_blank">banana flowers</a> (and also bananas, from our garden!). We got a second dog, but after a month of fun Tika decided <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/marley-and-me.html" target="_blank">Marley</a> needed to find somewhere else to live, which made me and Andy really, really sad.<br />
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I travelled to <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/beijing.html" target="_blank">Beijing</a>, <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/hong-kong-guangzhou-and-macau.html" target="_blank">Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Macau</a> in June for work. I went to Melbourne in July for work. I went to Canberra a week later for work. I went back to <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/melbourne.html" target="_blank">Melbourne</a> in November for work. All in a year I said I would travel as little as possible for work! Andy and I also went to Hobart, for fun (<a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/in-hobart.html" target="_blank">post</a>, <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/huon-trail.html" target="_blank">post</a> and <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/tasman-peninsula.html" target="_blank">post</a>). I wrote a first-year sociology textbook - though not from scratch, and not by myself, it was still a lot of work. I published two journal articles, though most of the work for these was done in 2012. I coordinated 4 subjects and taught into another 3. I went on strike. I felt at times like I barely made it through the week, needed to spend many weekends doing work, and then the grind started again. I think I learned some work-related lessons about saying no to a few more things and protecting my personal life and my research space, but we'll see if I can enact them in 2014.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ScTI6-Ml5AM/Ur9_K4-kE_I/AAAAAAAAB2M/KBd1N9x9zoY/s1600/DSC00032+(5).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ScTI6-Ml5AM/Ur9_K4-kE_I/AAAAAAAAB2M/KBd1N9x9zoY/s320/DSC00032+(5).JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gardening is a good foil to work. </td></tr>
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I ran, I cycled, I started practicing yoga (again, but more seriously this time). I did push-ups, enough for a woman at work to ask how I get protein, which she followed up with "You even have muscle tone!" I read 59 books (and still going). Some of them were really short and easy, like 10 of the Sookie Stackhouse novels. But some of them were between 500 and 1000 pages long, so I think it works out to be rather a lot - 18,482 pages.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Book Aside: </i>My favourite fiction was easily <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13101761-bitter-greens?from_search=true" target="_blank">Bitter Greens</a></i> by Kate Forsyth, a literary re-telling of the Rapunzel story. Like Rapunzel's braid, it weaves together the stories of three very different women in three historical time periods, and it was just lovely. Second fave was <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6433752-the-lacuna?from_search=true" target="_blank">The Lacuna</a></i> by Barbara Kingsolver, which I read right back in January. More historical fiction, this one spanning Mexico in the time of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera and Washington DC in the McCarthy era, in a way that gave me a much better idea of history than any of my actual history classes did. My favourite non-fiction was <i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4955766-real-dirt" target="_blank">Real Dirt: How I beat my grid-life crisis</a></i> by James Woodford. James is a friend of mine and this book is about his transition from a highly-strung, big city journalist to a rural, self-sufficient fella. There is a little bit of talk about killing animals, in the way that non-vegans always discuss self-sufficiency, but it's minor and I really loved the book anyways. </blockquote>
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So I guess it's no wonder I was exhausted by the end of November.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3eidSDMbIhE/Ur9_LBHorWI/AAAAAAAAB2Q/jTV5QzPzs_Y/s1600/DSC00012+(10).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3eidSDMbIhE/Ur9_LBHorWI/AAAAAAAAB2Q/jTV5QzPzs_Y/s320/DSC00012+(10).JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's a bowl of mulberries. We kept them in the freezer till<br />we had enough to make a cobbler. Then I forgot to<br />photograph the cobbler. </td></tr>
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<b><a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/plans-goals-resolutions.html" target="_blank">2013 Resolutions</a> - How'd I Go? </b><br />
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I did one <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/quarterly-update.html" target="_blank">update</a> on my resolutions in March, but the second and third quarters were rather busy for me and I didn't get round to talking about my progress.<br />
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1. <i>Run 500k this year</i>. I have run 515 kilometres, so: Nailed it. For the first few months I thought I would reach this goal somewhere around September, because I was going really well. I was regularly going 4 or 5k, 4 or 5 times a week. Then I got sick, and exhausted, and then I travelled, and then I started running again a bit more seriously, and then I got tired again. But I got there. And on Christmas Day I started a "<a href="http://www.kissmyblackass.org/podcasts/from-5k-to-10k/" target="_blank">From 5k to 10k</a>" program, which Tika and I kicked off with a 7km run.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qLdGwGeUWBY/Ur976TxxKfI/AAAAAAAAB1Y/LWFBKxgNk6k/s1600/IMG_0951.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qLdGwGeUWBY/Ur976TxxKfI/AAAAAAAAB1Y/LWFBKxgNk6k/s320/IMG_0951.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tika usually touches noses with me to wake me up really, really early.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SwwRLQcdGSg/Ur976STbp8I/AAAAAAAAB1M/RbvlCc4z2s4/s1600/IMG_0952.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SwwRLQcdGSg/Ur976STbp8I/AAAAAAAAB1M/RbvlCc4z2s4/s320/IMG_0952.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As a result we often see the sun come up.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7m17C2tRE3A/Ur97679vRGI/AAAAAAAAB1Q/RoIuceyOFtQ/s1600/IMG_1072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7m17C2tRE3A/Ur97679vRGI/AAAAAAAAB1Q/RoIuceyOFtQ/s320/IMG_1072.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here are a few sunrises I snapped on particularly pretty mornings.</td></tr>
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2. <i>Cycle 1600k</i> this year. I didn't quite make this one. I got to 1565, so close. I think the reason for this is that I started working from home one day a week, and I travelled more than I had planned, so I didn't end up cycling as much. But we did cycle just about every day to work, rarely driving, so that was a success anyways.<br />
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3.<i> Do push-ups every week</i>. There were 4 or 5 weeks throughout the year where I did 0 push-ups, but in most weeks I pushed-up on 3 mornings a week, and sometimes even 4 or 5 times. I did about 2700 push-ups across the year, so I'm going to call this one: Nailed it.<br />
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4. <i>Clear out my inbox every day at work</i>. I was going really well at this, but then I started slipping. I wanted to keep my inbox to less than 100 messages, with everything else being actioned and moved to folders or deleted. But then the slip turned into a slide, and now I have over 1000 messages to get through. So: Failed it. I think I'll do some serious deleting before I return to work, and I'll try this one again.<br />
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5. <i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">Unsubscribe from email lists that I don't read regularly, and stop subscribing to new ones. </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">Again, I was going really well at this and then I Failed it. Must keep trying!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">6. T</span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">urn my PhD into a book and get it published. </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">I have probably 90% of a manuscript, and a proposal which is ready to submit. This is less than I wanted to have done, but the textbook sort of bumped back the PhD book. On the bright side, my writing mentor really likes it, and so do I. And I sent my proposal to my textbook editor (who <i>only</i> publishes textbooks) and she thought it was good, and will get published. I am hoping to submit the proposal to some publishers in January and be ready to send this off by March.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0HQE9fIChF8/Ur5apxNic2I/AAAAAAAAB08/izPqZeQH_UQ/s1600/IMG_0926.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0HQE9fIChF8/Ur5apxNic2I/AAAAAAAAB08/izPqZeQH_UQ/s400/IMG_0926.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When I work at home, Nacho likes to "help" me write...</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">7. </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">Set up one of our spare rooms as a craft room.</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;"> Nailed it. I'm not so good at keeping it clean when I'm busy, but the table has also been doubling as my desk when I work on my books. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mjGhVgNa1KE/Ur99KfyTcfI/AAAAAAAAB1s/MF5FcL1fkTE/s1600/PC280001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mjGhVgNa1KE/Ur99KfyTcfI/AAAAAAAAB1s/MF5FcL1fkTE/s320/PC280001.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Futon, $20 from gumtree, tables and other furniture in the <br />room are "in storage" for a friend living overseas.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hooks and thumbtacks keep my stuff organised.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;"></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">8. </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">Finish crocheting the blanket</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;"> I </span><a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/wip-it.html" style="background-color: white; color: #888888; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">started in early 2012</a>. Nailed it. I finished this, and then Andy said it wasn't long enough, so I made another, 7 feet long and 5 feet wide, so we can both fit under it and it covers Andy's feet entirely.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MiQfKE8d-IQ/Ur99KTQd6gI/AAAAAAAAB1o/n4b_rZH1ZDg/s1600/PC290026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MiQfKE8d-IQ/Ur99KTQd6gI/AAAAAAAAB1o/n4b_rZH1ZDg/s400/PC290026.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Both blankets, folded in half. </td></tr>
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9. <i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">Sew curtains. </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">Well, I did this for the bedroom, but haven't gotten to any of the other rooms yet. 2014!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">10. </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">Plant more flowers, bee-attracting ones, in amongst the veggies. </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">We've done this pretty well, with sunflowers mostly but also marigolds. Need to try branching out with more flowers for flowers' sake</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R40Pk8mpksA/Ur0ru3FWdtI/AAAAAAAAB0k/w2GpL4JwFA0/s1600/DSC00029+(4).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R40Pk8mpksA/Ur0ru3FWdtI/AAAAAAAAB0k/w2GpL4JwFA0/s200/DSC00029+(4).JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">11. </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">Keep track of everything we spend for at least two months of the year</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">. Nailed it. Though this is a good way to keep track of where our money goes, at the moment we are financially secure enough that I won't bother with this in 2014. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">12. </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">Do more food-prep and meal-planning on the weekends. </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">We did try out meal planning and it worked fairly well, but on the weekends where I was busy working, I was too tired to bother. Luckily Andy is a wonderful partner and a pretty good cook, because I would have eaten a lot of toast and peanut noodles if it wasn't for him! <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1PwyrOpzOxA/Ur0qKrGtBiI/AAAAAAAAB0Q/SODQiBWHuGo/s1600/DSC00010+(7).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1PwyrOpzOxA/Ur0qKrGtBiI/AAAAAAAAB0Q/SODQiBWHuGo/s400/DSC00010+(7).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's a meal - maybe it was even meal-planned - I think I never<br />
blogged about. It is pasta carbonara, with Vegg and bacon bits<br />
and mushrooms. It was good. I should make it again and<br />
post a recipe.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">13. </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">Help out with at least 3 vegan outreach stalls. </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">Not quite nailed it. I did two - one at the Uni O-Week, and one for <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/worldwide-vegan-bake-sale.html" target="_blank">Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale</a>. We did have multiple vegan <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/vegan-picnic.html" target="_blank">picnics</a> and get-togethers, though, so I guess this isn't a fail.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;"><b>So, for 2014?</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 16.363636016845703px;">I'm not going to make 14 resolutions. I'm going to keep it a bit simpler this year:</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16.359375px;">In line with trying to up my running from 5k to 10k, I want to increase my overall kilometrage. Ideally, I'll do a few 7-10km runs 3x per week, so my goal: Run 750kms.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16.359375px;">Improve my posture - I am having a private yoga lesson in January and I'll flag this as an area I want to work on.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16.359375px;">Keep working on the things above - mainly email related - that I didn't quite nail. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16.359375px;">Spend less time doing things that make me unhappy, spend less time with people who make me unhappy. Surround myself with people I love, doing things that I love. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16.359375px;">Run the robot vacuum cleaner at least twice a week. We have lovely wood floors that look amazing when clean, but they are usually covered in dog and cat hair. We bought a robot earlier this year just for this purpose, so I may as well use it more often.</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WPKs3lVg5y8/Ur99QoCFpZI/AAAAAAAAB2A/P9m8bIDeAvA/s1600/PC290028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WPKs3lVg5y8/Ur99QoCFpZI/AAAAAAAAB2A/P9m8bIDeAvA/s320/PC290028.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hands down best purchase of 2013.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16.359375px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16.359375px;">How was your year, and what are your plans for the next one? </span></div>
Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25669750.post-83912635461869147702013-12-27T10:22:00.000+10:002013-12-27T10:22:31.250+10:00Tasman PeninsulaFor the second day of our car hire in Hobart, we headed in the other direction (sort of), east and south to the Tasman Peninsula.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.tasmanpeninsula.com.au/documents/Tasman-Peninsula-Map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="362" src="http://www.tasmanpeninsula.com.au/documents/Tasman-Peninsula-Map.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from <a href="http://tasmanpeninsula.com.au/wp/">http://tasmanpeninsula.com.au/wp/</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Our first stop was a town called Copping, where we had a look at this strange art. We tried to go into the cafe / shop thingie that was attached to it, but they were closed.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MmxsHMF81jQ/UrzFFnUVnbI/AAAAAAAAByg/RkQ3Mkv6Hf0/s1600/DSC00100.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MmxsHMF81jQ/UrzFFnUVnbI/AAAAAAAAByg/RkQ3Mkv6Hf0/s400/DSC00100.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A mermaid and her baby riding a marlin, and behind them is another mermaid on a stump, and perhaps the Loch Ness monster??</td></tr>
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So instead we went to Dunalley for a hot beverage. It was a pretty brisk day, but we had a little wander to look at the Abel Tasman monument - commemorating the site where the Dutch explorer planted a flag in 1642. In fact, the 371st anniversary of this was the *day* before we were there, so we missed a public reading from Tasman's journal, but our coffee was good anyways.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-efVNIqcn3Jw/UrzFgMaRAuI/AAAAAAAAByo/TR7-_MUFmQk/s1600/DSC00103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-efVNIqcn3Jw/UrzFgMaRAuI/AAAAAAAAByo/TR7-_MUFmQk/s400/DSC00103.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The monument at Dunalley.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oXdTL5annSw/UrzFgVWo6sI/AAAAAAAABys/29HBHQvXKJE/s1600/DSC00107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oXdTL5annSw/UrzFgVWo6sI/AAAAAAAABys/29HBHQvXKJE/s400/DSC00107.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A tiny house.</td></tr>
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This is the area where really fierce bushfires decimated the countryside just about a year ago. It was good to see heaps of green shoots on the trees. It made them look kind of furry.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7MUGSMtwpCs/UrzFgtaii5I/AAAAAAAAByw/SQsa_CFv2vs/s1600/DSC00109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7MUGSMtwpCs/UrzFgtaii5I/AAAAAAAAByw/SQsa_CFv2vs/s400/DSC00109.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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At Eaglehawk Neck, we looked out at the lookout.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ACBJ6vRicLI/UrzFmMKU1fI/AAAAAAAABzE/ejpbsS3CGuE/s1600/DSC00110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ACBJ6vRicLI/UrzFmMKU1fI/AAAAAAAABzE/ejpbsS3CGuE/s400/DSC00110.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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We walked down to the Tessellated Pavement, a natural geological somethingorother.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L0WETQUVuoQ/UrzFn4UknrI/AAAAAAAABzQ/P4UrKaZB6XE/s1600/DSC00122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L0WETQUVuoQ/UrzFn4UknrI/AAAAAAAABzQ/P4UrKaZB6XE/s400/DSC00122.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Probably more interesting at low tide.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LfmNZjttRzw/UrzFmB0KoyI/AAAAAAAABzA/i5Qqhddx4UQ/s1600/DSC00123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LfmNZjttRzw/UrzFmB0KoyI/AAAAAAAABzA/i5Qqhddx4UQ/s400/DSC00123.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The views over Pirate Bay were pretty stunning.</td></tr>
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Then we headed in to Pirate Bay where we explored the area around the Blowhole.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bgFWKsNARzI/UrzFrX4Mk9I/AAAAAAAABzY/g4mZj-zbIzU/s1600/DSC00128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bgFWKsNARzI/UrzFrX4Mk9I/AAAAAAAABzY/g4mZj-zbIzU/s400/DSC00128.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was the blowiest it got.</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2FKKP8KJrDw/UrzFt6SmhcI/AAAAAAAABzo/XpFu4HVYhR4/s1600/DSC00139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2FKKP8KJrDw/UrzFt6SmhcI/AAAAAAAABzo/XpFu4HVYhR4/s400/DSC00139.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This part was more interesting.</td></tr>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8MEQmZy6P-o/UrzFsFso1VI/AAAAAAAABzg/iz7pFKAeczw/s1600/DSC00130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8MEQmZy6P-o/UrzFsFso1VI/AAAAAAAABzg/iz7pFKAeczw/s400/DSC00130.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Then we went to the Coal Mines Historical Site, a former convict site, where prisoners were put to use digging coal. This is the free version of Port Arthur. The bit we saw was quite interesting with lots of informative signs, but it was raining sporadically and quite wet and chilly, so we didn't spend as much time here as we should have.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xgnDC4Gi9uQ/UrzFxUXxz3I/AAAAAAAABzw/BmpSEScjdao/s1600/DSC00162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xgnDC4Gi9uQ/UrzFxUXxz3I/AAAAAAAABzw/BmpSEScjdao/s400/DSC00162.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cells for convicts to sleep in weren't even big enough for Andy to lay straight.</td></tr>
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Then we continued around the peninsula, stopping at Port Arthur but not going in ($70 for the two of us, and we were there mid-afternoon so decided to skip it all together!). We took a little detour towards Marion Bay, because we wanted to see some good solid Open Ocean, rather than the bays and inlets we'd seen so far.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K96LahFPss4/UrzFzv3_SVI/AAAAAAAAB0A/yR9l9fdgUsQ/s1600/DSC00183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K96LahFPss4/UrzFzv3_SVI/AAAAAAAAB0A/yR9l9fdgUsQ/s400/DSC00183.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some marshy stuff around Marion Bay.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ceCKd21akJM/UrzFxvZZsQI/AAAAAAAABz0/0vMgFeMlqpg/s1600/DSC00172.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ceCKd21akJM/UrzFxvZZsQI/AAAAAAAABz0/0vMgFeMlqpg/s400/DSC00172.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you look really closely, off in the far distance, you can maybe see NZ...?</td></tr>
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From here, it was open ocean all the way to NZ, which is pretty open. </div>
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On our way back, we stopped in Sorrell at the u-pick fruit farm, thinking there would be pre-picked fruit for sale. But there wasn't, and I didn't want to pay someone to let me pick their strawberries. So we bought some strawberry liqueur instead, and then headed back to our apartment.</div>
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The next morning we returned our hire car, had some cake at Frankie's Empire, and then made our way to the airport. Sleet in Hobart saw us off, and we were greeted in Melbourne with thunderstorms that shut the airport down and nearly resulted in us missing our connection. But we made it back to Townsville in the end, not even much later than usual. As good as it was to get away, it was wonderful to be home!</div>
Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25669750.post-29123561274781002102013-12-26T10:00:00.000+10:002013-12-26T10:00:06.902+10:00Christmas WrappingI'll pause my <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/huon-trail.html" target="_blank">Tasmania</a> <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/in-hobart.html" target="_blank">recaps</a>, because hey, it's Christmas. It sort of snuck up on us this year. Without going into too much detail, I had a rather busy year this year. It was full of workworkwork, to which I said yes too often and found myself often overwhelmed. And it was a bargaining year - so the union activities added to my things to do, but the whole process also made me feel a bit less generous towards my employer. When you see how little regard management holds staff in, it makes it hard to love what you do, ya know? So I got to the end of November utterly exhausted, and though I've been on holidays since then, I still feel like I'm in recovery mode.<br />
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Long story short, the weekend before Christmas I realised I had no plans for a meal or anything. Our Asian grocery store has stopped getting in gluten flour, because their supplier has stopped supplying. So our tradition of a <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2010/12/seitanic.html" target="_blank">seitan log</a> was out of the question.<br />
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Eventually I got it together, though Andy said he would have been happy with just a regular dinner, and our Christmas involved an appropriately festive series of meals, a few little gifts, and some lazy chores (okay, that last part isn't that festive but it's how we roll).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy has spent most of the week turning rubbish timber from our neighbour's renovations into a BBQ table. </td></tr>
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We ended up having the Festive Chickpea Tart from <i>Let them eat Vegan!</i>, which we both really liked. It wasn't as firm as Dreena's picture, which probably means I need to process the filling a bit more, but I was nervous about overdoing it.<br />
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Along with the tart, we had rosemary, okra and mushroom stuffing (I tried to bake them as stuffing balls but they sort of fell apart), and a simple salad.<br />
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With rosemary dressing - 2 Tbsp of fresh rosemary, 1 tsp of dijon mustard, 1 Tbsp of dark tahini, 1 tsp of balsamic vinegar, 2 tsp of pomegranate molasses, and about 1/2 cup of olive oil. Also salt and pepper. Shake it all up in a jar, and then pour it onto salad, stuffing, and chickpea tart. Yum.<br />
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On Sunday, <a href="http://www.bitesizedthoughts.com/" target="_blank">Kari</a> posted a raw vegan mango cheesecake <a href="http://www.bitesizedthoughts.com/2013/12/a-final-christmas-post-my-main-meal.html" target="_blank">recipe</a> to her blog, and my dessert indecision was over. This became our holiday dessert:<br />
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Served with extra fresh mango, and at another time with a fruit salad of pineapple, starfruit, kiwifruit and mango, it is pretty much as perfect as you can get for a tropical christmas.<br />
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We had our main Christmas meal on Christmas eve, as we always do. When I woke up on actual Christmas, I took Tika for a 7km run (the longest I've ever run in one go, and also enough to bring my annual total from 496 to 503, thus making it to my <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/plans-goals-resolutions.html" target="_blank">2013 running goal</a>). When we got home, Andy was just starting to make breakfast, and it was raining a little bit.<br />
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Baked Latkes, from <i>Betty Goes Vegan</i>, became BBQ Latkes. We've been looking for a good hashbrown/latke recipe for many years, but they never seem to work for us. This time, though, we found a winner. Andy sprinkled bacon bits on top at the end of cooking. They were crunchy outside, soft inside, and very delicious.<br />
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And with them we had herby mushrooms in a <a href="http://thevegg.com/" target="_blank">Vegg</a> gravy.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mushrooms with thyme, parsley and garlic chives.</td></tr>
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I spent the morning drinking iced christmassy tea - rosella, cranberry and vanilla, refreshing and a little bit festive. Andy played with the compost while I did laundry.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I got this fancy iced-tea maker when a friend moved overseas, but I cannot for the life of me pour a glass of tea without dribbling heaps. </td></tr>
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And then moved on to this <a href="http://theveganstoner.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/coconut-nog.html" target="_blank">vegan coconut nog</a> (with a splash or five of rum). And salt and vinegar chips for lunch, because tradition.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some gifties - tea (and a teapot, not in the photo) from Andy's parents, some dried edible seaweed from Andy's co-worker, a seaweed book from Andy's boss, and a tropical gardening book from me. Also coconut nog. </td></tr>
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For dinner, we had more chickpea tart, which Andy reckons is the best savoury tart I've ever made. And grilled pineapple, and garlic bread (and more cheesecake).<br />
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And now it's Boxing Day, and we will eat the last of our cheesecake and watch Doctor Who. I hope you've all had as enjoyable a few days as we have!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy refused to put on a shirt, Tika refused to sit or stand up, and Nacho refused to come near us.</td></tr>
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<br />Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25669750.post-60734935461282905942013-12-21T11:44:00.002+10:002013-12-21T11:44:28.749+10:00Huon Trail<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map from <a href="http://www.tashosttouring.com.au/district_maps/huon_map.php">http://www.tashosttouring.com.au/district_maps/huon_map.php</a></td></tr>
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After a few days in sleepy Hobart, Andy and I were ready to head out and see what the surrounding countryside had to offer. For our first day of driving, we headed south and west, aiming to make it as far south in Australia as you can go in a little hire car.<br />
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As it was a Tuesday, some things were closed, like the Apple Museum and the Enchanted Woods wood working gallery. But we still managed to see some very cool things, and saw a bit of the country that is so very different to North Queensland.<br />
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In Franklin, we hopped out of the car to have a look at the Huon River and the boats there.<br />
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We stopped in Port Huon at "The Cafe" (the ONLY cafe) for some hot chips. They were crinkle cuts, which Andy loves but I don't.<br />
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The highlight of the Huon Valley, for us, was the little town of Geeveston. It had a free local museum about forestry and wood and big trees.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Geeveston boasted wood carvings of noteworthy locals, and I guess this is one of them? </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy and a slice of a 2000 year old tree.</td></tr>
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And it had a little walking circuit that included a local artists/designers gallery and a platypus viewing station. We didn't see any platypuses (platypi?), but Andy got some good ideas for wood working things he'd like to try himself.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Also on the walking circuit was the "Big Log", which is as you can see a log from a very big tree.</td></tr>
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At Dover we stopped for a quick squiz at some apple orchards.<br />
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And then we made it down to Ida Bay. This isn't a town so much as the location of a tourist railway ride. We got there a bit late and didn't go on the train, but did make it to the furtherest south bit of paved road in the whole of Australia.<br />
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Then we ducked back in to South Port, which had some lovely white beaches, where we ate our lunch. At the Geeveston IGA we bought some pumpkin-chickpea dip, and the Geeveston Bakery provided us with the bread (probably the southernmost bakery in Australia, too, and I'm not sure why they didn't brag heaps about that!).<br />
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We drove past the southernmost pub in Australia, but neither of us wanted a beer and Andy didn't even want to stop to let me snap a photo.<br />
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Then we headed back towards Hobart, taking a little detour down the other side of the D'Entrecasteaux Channel. Here is Middleton, which had a monument to the French guy, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_Bruni_d'Entrecasteaux" target="_blank">Bruni D'Entrecasteaux</a>, who explored the area in the 1790s.<br />
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At this point it was getting cold, and though daylight savings meant it stayed light till about 9.30pm, we were both getting tired, so we headed back in to Hobart, landing at our apartment at about 7. If you ever find yourself in Hobart, I would really recommend the Huon Valley - so much pretty scenery!<br />
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<br />Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25669750.post-34925346488940333632013-12-18T09:13:00.001+10:002013-12-18T09:13:26.374+10:00In HobartThis was our first trip to Tasmania, and we'd been pretty busy throughout the year and didn't really have as much time to <i>plan</i> as we probably needed. So we sort of decided to just wing it - see what we came across in Hobart, hire a car while we were there if we felt like it. This is a good relaxing way to travel, but in hindsight it would have been worth hiring a car straight from the airport and driving around a bit more.<br />
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We spent a few days poking around Hobart, though, which was fun in a slow way. The city feels very British, and in a lot of ways looks like New England. There were flowers everywhere, which made me sniffle and sneeze in a way that tropical plants do not.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The garden at our apartment.</td></tr>
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Our first goal, when we arrived on Friday around lunch time, was to find some food. I had familiarised myself with <a href="http://herestheveg.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">Where's the Beef's</a> <a href="http://herestheveg.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Hobart" target="_blank">Hobart</a> posts, and wrote down lots of places we might go. Luckily the Hobart city centre is really quite compact, so we didn't need to spend hours walking around before we came upon <a href="https://www.facebook.com/momobubbletea.hobart" target="_blank">Mo Mo Bubble Tea and Coffee House</a>. Of course we got bubble tea - Andy a mulberry tea and me an apple tea, with pearls to fill us up.<br />
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But despite the extensive list of tea choices, I was most impressed with the burgers. I had a vegan fish burger.<br />
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It was amazingly flaky and tasted a lot like tuna salad, in a pleasant way.<br />
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Andy had a chicken schnitzel burger, which he liked a whole lot better than <a href="http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/melbourne.html" target="_blank">his chicken burger from Lord of the Fries</a>.<br />
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After that we sought out the waterfront, and then found a grocery store. Since it was <i>cold</i>, and since we were in an apartment with a kitchen, we figured we would eat lunch out most days but have breakfast and dinner at home. I think I'll do a separate post about our self-catering efforts. <br />
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Saturday morning we made the obligatory visit to <a href="http://www.hobartcity.com.au/Hobart/Hobart_Events/Salamanca_Market" target="_blank">Salamanca Markets</a>. We were a bit unsure what to expect - some people said they were overrated, others said they're fantastic. We really liked the markets. We spent a good few hours wandering through the stalls looking at the wares on offer, tasting samples of olives and jams wherever we could, and basking in the warm-ish sun.<br />
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I got a pie for lunch from the<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Summer-Kitchen-Bakery/389693084374495" target="_blank"> Summer Kitchen Bakery</a> stall - a lentil shepherd's pie. It came with chutney, and I liked it well enough. I've had few occasions in my life to eat a takeaway pie like this so it was a bit of an experience.<br />
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We wandered around some more, looking at things like boats.<br />
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And on our walk back to our apartment in North Hobart, we passed a vet clinic with the most adorable exterior painting job.<br />
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Sunday we headed out to another market, this one focused on produce. The <a href="http://farmgatemarket.com.au/" target="_blank">Farm Gate Market</a> was a little smaller than I expected, but full of potatoes and broad beans and Asian greens. There was a burrito stall that sold vegan burritoes, and a cake stall that sold a vegan muesli slice, but we were there early and had just eaten breakfast so we didn't sample any of these offerings.<br />
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More wandering around Hobart had us marveling at how vibrantly green everything was.<br />
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Then we happened upon a <a href="http://www.fda.com.au/designedmade.htm" target="_blank">designer's market</a> full of beautiful wood working, glass, paintings, and other works of art. And a pastry stall. I got a potato and red lentil samosa, and Andy had a kale and pumpkin pie.<br />
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And then a little bit more wandering and we discovered there was a free shuttle bus out to the <a href="http://www.cascadebreweryco.com.au/" target="_blank">Cascade Brewery</a>, in honour of some birthday or other. There wasn't really much information around, but we each got a token for a 50cent beer, so we sat on the lawn and listened to jazz and took it pretty easy for the afternoon.<br />
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On Monday we went to the<a href="http://www.rtbg.tas.gov.au/" target="_blank"> botanical gardens</a>. My camera batteries were flat, and also I wanted to die from all the sneezing and hay fevering, so I have no photos. But they were the best botanical gardens Andy or I have visited. Lots of variety, and it was a warm sunny day, so we enjoyed ourselves even though <a href="http://www.rtbg.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=381" target="_blank">Pete's Patch</a>, our main attraction, was under construction. We had lunch at <a href="https://plus.google.com/100094934633210211365/about?gl=au&hl=en" target="_blank">Dumpling World</a>, which was all right.<br />
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The next few days we drove, getting out of Hobart to see what else was around. As beautiful as it was, Hobart city was perhaps a wee bit boring, but a great way to spend a relaxing week.Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25669750.post-31929128649680939292013-12-14T15:58:00.000+10:002013-12-14T15:58:36.677+10:00MelbourneRight at the end of semester, late enough that I could conceivably get *all* my work done for the year before I left, I had a conference in Melbourne to attend. And one day in the middle of the year I got an email about cheap flights between Melbourne and Hobart. So I decided that Andy would meet me in Melbourne and together we would go to Tasmania for a purely holiday trip.<div>
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While I was in Melbourne, almost all of my time was spent <i>at</i> the conference - from dinner on Sunday night, a meeting all day Monday, welcome drinks that evening, conference followed by Women's Drinks on Tuesday, and then the conference dinner on Wednesday. Thursday I wagged, since Andy had arrived, and we did a little exploring.</div>
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I made sure that we were near a <a href="http://www.lordofthefries.com.au/" target="_blank">Lord of the Fries</a> for lunch. I had a Mini Mark burger and Andy got a chicken parma burger (which he didn't love, actually). The real star of the show was the "French Canadian Fries", aka poutine, aka chips covered in vegan cheese and gravy. </div>
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Then it started raining, which was boo. So we decided to skip seeing a beach (any beach - Andy's request) and instead took the tram to Prahran Market where we sought out the <a href="http://www.misterniceguy.com.au/" target="_blank">Mister Nice Guy's Bakeshop</a> stall. There were a handful of cupcake varieties, some cinnamon buns, brownies, and raw cheesecakes, and it was legitimately difficult to decide what to get. In the end I got a full sized Chocolate Peanut Butter cupcake, because duh. Andy tried a bite and said it wasn't any better than my cupcakes, which was a nice compliment and probably not true. It was good. Very good. And gluten free - my attempts at GF baking are never that delicious, that's for sure.</div>
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We also grabbed a half-dozen baby cupcakes to bring back with us. We were staying with an acquaintance who invited us to have dinner with her, her partner, her son and his partner. Since they are wine people and we would have embarrassed ourselves trying to choose a proper bottle, and since I love cupcakes, this was our contribution to the dinner. These are - vanilla lavender at the top, apple pie in the middle, and "unicorn" at the bottom. </div>
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I think these were generally enjoyed by everyone. I had a Unicorn cupcake, which I suspect contains no real unicorn. It did contain rainbow sprinkles, both on top and in the batter (like Funfetti cake!). And the pink icing tasted like some kind of berry-ish thing. Andy had one of the apple pie cakes. He thought they were overpriced, but he's a bit grinchy sometimes. <br />
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Here's another shot of cupcakes from another angle, because cupcakes. </div>
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Friday morning we headed straight to the airport and then had almost a full week to explore Hobart and its surrounds. I'll post about that soon. </div>
Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25669750.post-80605615651965891352013-11-21T19:41:00.000+10:002013-11-21T19:41:00.061+10:00Prunes!When I was a kid, prunes were synonymous with pooping - it was my Grandma's surefire remedy for constipation. "Pruuune juice" was always said with our noses scrunched up.<br />
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A few weeks ago after yoga class, we all went over to the teacher's house for breakfast. We had oats, and there was a little pack of prunes, so I had a few. And they were yum!<br />
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So I bought a pack. And then I saw a recipe in <i>Celebrate Vegan</i> for Seitan with Prunes, a Persian dish. I thought it sounded interesting, but we don't have any seitan and gluten flour is a bit of a hot commodity at the moment. So I made it with tofu instead.<br />
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I also added some yellow capsicum, just because. And served it over rice. This was SO MUCH BETTER than I thought it would be. The tofu simmered away with the prunes, some spices, and a little bit of stock. As it simmered, the flavoured seeped into the tofu, the liquid thickened, and the prunes softened into a delicious goo.<br />
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So different to our usual meals, but so very good. I'll never scrunch up my nose over prunes again.Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25669750.post-69000866357664089892013-11-16T13:08:00.000+10:002013-11-16T13:08:22.715+10:00Hey BuddyAndy and I grow bananas, and so far we've had two plants with fruit on them. The first bunch of bananas took SO LONG before they were ready to pick - like 3 months or so. We cut off one hand at a time, rather than chopping down the whole bunch, so for 8 weeks or so we had fresh bananas from our back yard, rather than a glut all at once.<br />
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We have another bunch on a new plant, and it gave me a second opportunity to try eating the banana blossom. We did this with the first plant, but forgot to record anything about it. It's a weird looking part of the plant - a strange spear that looks nothing like a flower. The fruit forms underneath each petal, but after a while they stop producing. So we cut the flower off and eat it.<br />
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Start by peeling off the red petals. They are probably tough - I didn't actually try to eat them, but the whole internet says to get rid of them, and who am I to argue?<br />
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I tried to save two of these as fancy-pants serving bowls for our salad, but Andy tore them up and put them in the compost before I realised.<br />
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Underneath each petal are these little bunches of what would have become bananas (except that they don't, this far in - otherwise leave the flower in the tree!!). Supposedly you can eat these, if you separate out the stamen from the outer bit, but it sounds like a lot of work so we haven't tried yet.<br />
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This white thing is the part we eat. If you don't have a banana plant on hand, supposedly you can substitute cabbage in its place. Shred this as you do for cabbage.<br />
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Immediately put the banana blossom shreds into a bowl of water with lime juice. This is meant to keep it from browning. Mine went sort of gray anyways - the colour of a banana peel that's been cut, actually. It's not the most appetising appearance, but when it's covered with dressing it's not so bad.<br />
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I found <a href="http://www.greenkitchenstories.com/vietnamese-banana-blossom-salad/" target="_blank">this recipe</a> and planned to sort of follow it, and then didn't really. Ours was an Asian-inspired salad based entirely on what we had in the pantry, fridge and garden, and it turned out really nice.<br />
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<b>Tropical Vegan Banana Bud Salad</b><br />
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1 banana bud, shredded<br />
1 yellow capsicum, cut into matchsticks<br />
2 spring onions, chopped<br />
1 green chilli, finely sliced<br />
2 Tbsp. perennial coriander (aka culantro?), minced<br />
3 Tbsp. vietnamese mint leaves, roughly chopped<br />
1/4 c. crushed peanuts<br />
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Dressing:<br />
1 Tbsp. hot water<br />
1 Tbsp. brown sugar<br />
1 Tbsp. soy sauce<br />
juice from 1/2 a lime<br />
2 cloves garlic, minced<br />
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In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the dressing. In a large bowl, toss together all the salad ingredients. Pour over the dressing and let it sit for 20 minutes (or longer) before you eat it.<br />
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This salad mostly tastes like fresh Asian salad, because of the herbs and spring onions and so on. But the banana bud tastes a little bit like banana peel does, in a pleasant way. That isn't a great description, I know, but trust me. We served ours with some Vietnamese asparagus & mushrooms with rice noodles. </div>
<br />Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25669750.post-1561674464694498492013-11-02T16:02:00.000+10:002013-11-02T16:02:52.550+10:00Trying new thingsThough I have basically ignored Andy's silly request that I avoid buying new cookbooks until I have tried *every* recipe in *every* cookbook we already have, I have been making an effort to try lots of new and exciting things. Because trying new things is good - it keeps us from getting in food ruts. And with a little bit of forward thinking, it isn't any more difficult than relying on old stand-by meals.<br />
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Here are a few new things we've been eating...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wlIMhilBWXY/UnSQz-LWVSI/AAAAAAAABpk/TL7jHKtCBbk/s1600/DSC00001+(14).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wlIMhilBWXY/UnSQz-LWVSI/AAAAAAAABpk/TL7jHKtCBbk/s400/DSC00001+(14).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beans and Greens, from <i>The Urban Vegan</i>. I used kale and cannelini beans, and added capsicum to the pan. Served on Creamy Polenta, from <i>Let them eat Vegan!</i> Both delicious - the polenta will probably be our new go-to polenta recipe because it is yummy. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rb-N3gVwI2U/UnSQ0k-_5fI/AAAAAAAABpo/UEUJEMi8my4/s1600/DSC00001+(15).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rb-N3gVwI2U/UnSQ0k-_5fI/AAAAAAAABpo/UEUJEMi8my4/s400/DSC00001+(15).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No-Fu Love Loaf, from <i>Let them eat Vegan! </i>Made from lentils, bulgur and oats, it is really the flavourings that make this a stand-out loaf. It's so yummy. Andy topped this one with a fancy pattern of BBQ sauce, tomato sauce and mustard. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WCOpft_m1fk/UnSRDu6A8bI/AAAAAAAABqk/T7YhdqsBkTg/s1600/DSC00019+(10).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WCOpft_m1fk/UnSRDu6A8bI/AAAAAAAABqk/T7YhdqsBkTg/s400/DSC00019+(10).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Okay, I cheat. This is also No-Fu Love Loaf - so not an entirely new thing. We really love it, and it's easy to make on a Sunday and leave in the fridge for later in the week. Last time I even made a double batch and put one loaf in the freezer. We cook ours on the BBQ - here with a jacket potato, and some kale with miso dressing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z7olJnJ5SCU/UnSQ0tTJ06I/AAAAAAAABps/LmYmfKtE1eY/s1600/DSC00002+(13).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z7olJnJ5SCU/UnSQ0tTJ06I/AAAAAAAABps/LmYmfKtE1eY/s400/DSC00002+(13).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corn Pudding, from <i>The Happy Herbivore</i>. Though this cookbook isn't our favourite in the way that <i>LteV! </i>is, this recipe is a winner. It's like a silky, soft quiche full of corn. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zNzo4a0jsaQ/UnSQ6FfjWDI/AAAAAAAABp8/LbSEfaLZOPM/s1600/DSC00007+(11).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zNzo4a0jsaQ/UnSQ6FfjWDI/AAAAAAAABp8/LbSEfaLZOPM/s400/DSC00007+(11).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is BBQ tofu in Classic Marinade from <i>The Urban Vegan</i>. But we've had that before. The new thing here is Muhammara, a walnut and capiscum based sauce. I spooned some on the tofu in the last few minutes it was on the BBQ. It was a yummy combination - a tiny bit spicy, but with interesting depths of flavour we don't usually eat. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EzORb6WsDSo/UnSQ8H-E9vI/AAAAAAAABqM/V3RWSqrvPzE/s1600/DSC00008+(9).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EzORb6WsDSo/UnSQ8H-E9vI/AAAAAAAABqM/V3RWSqrvPzE/s400/DSC00008+(9).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mac-Oh-Geez! from <i>LteV!</i> I killed our blender a few weeks ago, so I made the nut-free version that used tahini instead of whole cashews. It was really nice - subtle, rather than cheesy, but super saucy. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jNR0Zm7iaXU/UnSRAAeQRiI/AAAAAAAABqU/sfcvauOAI1g/s1600/DSC00011+(14).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jNR0Zm7iaXU/UnSRAAeQRiI/AAAAAAAABqU/sfcvauOAI1g/s400/DSC00011+(14).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's the Mac-Oh-Geez! again. I added broccoli because that's how we roll. Oh, and Andy and I ate the whole pan in one go...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sAk3y688igc/UnSQ6sswhlI/AAAAAAAABqA/OIRET5PpmrA/s1600/DSC00010+(10).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sAk3y688igc/UnSQ6sswhlI/AAAAAAAABqA/OIRET5PpmrA/s400/DSC00010+(10).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Too Good to be Tofu Burgers, in loaf form, from <i>LteV!</i> We used okara instead of tofu, and added a shredded carrot, and cooked our loaf on the BBQ with some pumpkin, beetroot wedges, and corn. As with the Nofu loaf, the flavour of this is something magical. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oWo9VDURjFo/UnSRA3vNLiI/AAAAAAAABqY/GdDW53pfw1I/s1600/DSC00012+(10).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oWo9VDURjFo/UnSRA3vNLiI/AAAAAAAABqY/GdDW53pfw1I/s400/DSC00012+(10).JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fruity Cereal Bars, from <i>The Happy Herbivore</i>. Mine didn't quite work out like they should have. Maybe my pan was the wrong size, but I needed more than half the batter to fill the bottom of the pan, which meant that instead of a solid layer of cakey stuff on top, mine was more of a crumble. I threw walnuts around to make it look a little more full on top. I used rosella jam for these, and they made a good afternoon snack. I wouldn't rush to make these again, but they were nice. </td></tr>
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I have started ticking the recipes we have tried, and I am still woefully far away from getting even one entire cookbook under my belt. But nevermind - my copy of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2226220.The_Asian_Vegan_Kitchen__Authentic_and_Appetizing_Dishes_from_a_Continent_of_Rich_Flavors" target="_blank">Asian Vegan Kitchen</a> arrived yesterday so I have even more new recipes to try!<br />
<br />Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25669750.post-51572291550220316802013-10-26T16:52:00.001+10:002013-10-26T16:52:57.159+10:00Banana Streusel Muffins<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When it's not apple, pear, or mandarin season, I like to keep a stash of muffins in the freezer to bring in to work for a mid-morning snack. Andy eats his with his lunch, but I'm usually starving by about 9.30am. I try to hold out till 10 or 10.30 so I don't get hungry for lunch too early, but regardless, I would be nowhere without my morning muffin.<br />
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Last weekend I decided, after some serious deliberation, on Banana Streusel Muffins - combining an adaptation of the streusel recipe from the 'Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake' in <i>Urban Vegan</i> with an adaptation of 'Wolffie's Banana Blueberry Muffins' from <i>La Dolce Vegan</i>.<br />
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But then, a hiccup. We didn't have enough flour. Andy offered to pick some up on his way home from Bunning's, the hardware store mega-chain.<br />
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But then, another hiccup. We remembered the grocery stores don't open till 11am on Sundays. This was at about 9am, and we had people coming over for lunch at 12. I decided to just go to the shop afterwards, but Andy saw my determination to bake and called his friend Tom, who was coming for lunch, to borrow some flour.<br />
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Thanks again, Tom! (I repaid him in a muffin.)<br />
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I'm glad we did borrow the flour, because I wouldn't have felt like walking to the store in the afternoon. And these muffins were a delicious success, so it would have been tragic not to make them. Andy and Tom both thought they had apple in them - I guess because the flavours are all typically paired with apple. But just bananas here!<br />
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<b>Banana Streusel Muffins</b><br />
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1/2 c. chopped walnuts<br />
1/2 c. raisins<br />
1/2 c. brown sugar<br />
1 tsp. cinnamon<br />
1 tsp. flour<br />
3 Tbsp. grapeseed oil<br />
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2 c. flour (I used half white and half wholemeal, so I could call them muffins instead of cupcakes and feel like I eat healthy)<br />
1 Tbsp. baking powder<br />
1 tsp. ground cinnamon<br />
3/4 tsp. salt<br />
3/4 c. sugar<br />
2/3 c. non-dairy milk<br />
2 lady finger bananas, or 1 large banana (I used bananas from our tree!!)<br />
1 tsp. fresh grated ginger<br />
1/4 c. grapeseed oil<br />
2 Tbsp. molasses<br />
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To make the streusel, mix all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside.<br />
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Then preheat the oven to 190 (375F). Lightly oil a 12 cup muffin tin. In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and sugar - make sure there are no lumps left. In a jug with a stick blender, or in a proper blender, combine the milk, banana, ginger, oil and molasses and blend until smooth. Add the banana milk to the flour mixture and stir until combined.<br />
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Drop spoonfuls of batter into the muffin cups, filling a bit less than half full. Then put a spoonful of streusel mix. Top with another spoonful of muffin batter.<br />
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Bake for 22 minutes, give or take a few, until they are golden and cooked through. Probably put your muffin pan on a baking tray, because when I made these, this happened.<br />
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Andy seemed to enjoy scraping the hot toffee off the pan and eating it, and after letting the muffins cool for about 20 minutes they came out pretty easily. My advice is to loosen the edges while they are fresh from the oven, but don't take them out until the streusel hardens up a bit - otherwise you will lose your tops!<br />
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<b><br /></b>Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25669750.post-55772586027799467732013-10-20T19:54:00.003+10:002013-10-20T19:54:56.915+10:00Bacon Cake with Satay Ice CreamI recently made a batch of Peanut Butter Chai Ice Cream from <i>Let them eat vegan!</i> I thought the mix was really tasty before it went in to the ice cream maker. Andy said it tasted a little bit like satay sauce, but we both liked it in frozen form.<br />
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It's creamy and rich and you just need a scoop to feel satisfied.<br />
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Then the other day I made a coconut cake. I got home at 7.30 at night, and had to have a cake made before I left for a research trip at 6 the next morning - you see, cake is an important data collection tool. So I was in a bit of a rush, and out of cocoa powder. I threw together the Coconut Heaven Cupcake recipe from <i>Vegan with a Vengeance, </i>in whole cake form - something I have done many times before. This time, though, I saw the coconut oil and thought it would be great. I let Andy lick the bowl as I put the cake in the oven, and he thought it tasted a bit.... bacon-y. I didn't want to admit it, but he was kind of right. The coconut oil gave the cake a strange aftertaste that really does taste a bit like bacon.<br />
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It wasn't overpowering or terribly unpleasant, so I brought the cake anyways, but had leftovers to bring home. To mask the bacon flavour a bit, we had a piece with ice cream.<br />
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Bacon cake with satay ice cream. Surprisingly delicious.<br />
Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522718077350466894noreply@blogger.com4