Townsville's Vegan Revolution part 2: Degusting

Townsville is coming ahead in leaps and bounds when it comes to veganism. Early this year I discovered the fabulous breakfast options at relish. Last week, we moved on to fine dining.

Vegans in Townsville have raved about A touch of Salt 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. 

From A touch of salt's Facebook page. 

At $95 each, 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.

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. 

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. 

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.

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.


 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.

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!

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.


 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.

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.


 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.

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.


 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.

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.

Townsville's vegan revolution: Part 1

Before I went vegan, I loved 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!

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.

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.

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 relish. 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.

The next day, relish. posted this on their Facebook page.

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?".

And so, this morning, vegan waffles were had.

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.

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.

Relish. also has two vegan-isable burgers on their lunch menu, but who needs lunch when they have all-day breakfast with vegan waffles?!

Relish. Cafe
2 Kingsway Place
Next door to Townsville Bulletin office on Flinders St West (across from Fletcher St)
Monday & Tuesday 6.30am - 2.30pm; Wednesday - Friday 6.30am - 3.30pm; Weekends & Holidays 7.30am - 3pm

Loooong weekend.

Last weekend in Australia was a 5 day weekend - 5! That's as long as a typical work week!  Although I'm not religious, and observe neither Good Friday nor Easter, and although I have yet to attend a dawn service or otherwise make a big deal out of Anzac Day, I am not one to turn down a 5 day weekend - or an excuse to theme bake.

So how did we spend our 5 day weekend?  It would have been a good opportunity to travel somewhere exciting, but I was in the final throes of revising, and then submitting, an application for a postdoc.  So we stayed at home, and got up to some fun but low-key activities within bike-able distance of home.

But mainly, we ate.  I started Friday morning by making a batch of Hot Cross Buns.

I followed the recipe in Vegan Bake Sale, but used all dried mixed fruit.  And I threw everything into the bread maker, instead of bothering with kneading.  After 10 minutes of mixing, Andy decided I should make two batches - so we could freeze some, you see - so I quickly rushed around to get another lot put together, so they could go into the oven at the same time.

The buns themselves were wonderful - soft and fluffy, full of fruit and flavour.  The cross mix didn't work out for me - it was too thin, and blobbed out of my makeshift piping bag, resulting in messy white squiggles instead of dainty crosses.  And then when I put them into the oven, the crosses all but disappeared.  Oh well - the crosses are not the best part of the hot cross bun, anyways.

We picked up a bookshelf we received via freecycle, and found a home for it in the kitchen, housing our cookbook collection, some appliances, and Nacho's food.  Nacho digs it, even in its half-filled state.

We rode our bikes up the river and spent a few hours watching some waterskiing competition.  Can you make out the person flying through the air in the photo?

Mostly though, it was just nice to spend some time outside in the sun, next to the lovely river, after such a long wet season.

We tidied up the garden a bit.

And planted a few seeds, now that we are coming into the better growing season in Townsville.

We also read books, and I crocheted some stuffed toys for friends who are having babies soon - more on these after said recipients have received.  I decided the long weekend would be a good time to take up the Couch to 5k training program - I am determined to learn to like running, and I've heard good things about this program.  But I promptly got a sore knee, so have temporarily canned my running attempts - until I get some new shoes. 

 We went for a ride around the Anderson Park Gardens, especially interested in the tropical fruit orchard there...

And then I made Anzac biscuits, to wrap up the weekend.

Now it's Saturday, and I am gifted with another long weekend - that means three short weeks in a row.  Monday is Labour Day in Queensland, and I'm looking forward to another few days of pottering!

A new year

Before it gets too late into 2011, I thought I should share some snippets from our post-Christmas holiday.  Although we had planned on doing a bit of work between xmas and NYE, Andy and I ended up doing nothing of the sort.  Instead, we read books (novels! not work-related books!) and watched movies.  There was sporadic rain, but we got long enough breaks to do a bit of adventuring.

We went on a bike ride up to Aplin's Weir and watched the water rush over.

We tried to venture further, but found the path and the river had become closely acquainted.

I got a bit of a muddy back, but it was good to get out between the storms.

On another day we went to Pallarenda, my favourite of Townsville's two beaches.  I had never actually seen the shark enclosure before - but there was still no swimming, because the shark enclosure isn't stinger-proof.

Then we stopped in at Rowes Bay for some hot chips!

On yet another day, we biked in the other direction, to the railway bridge at Oonoonba. 

As you can see, the river was still *pretty* full.  A few days later we took a walk to the Bowen Road bridge and the river had dropped by at least 2 metres.  I didn't take the camera with us, but it was pretty crazy how quickly it fell!  And good for me, because it means that the path to uni is bike-able once again and I don't have to worry about getting lost in annoying suburbs with curvy streets and endless cul-de-sacs.  But anyways.

When New Year's Eve arrived, we celebrated with a feast.  Rice paper rolls, all full of raw veggies and tofu...
 

And steamed dumplings, fill with BBQ seitan filling.  They don't look that pretty, but they were light and fluffy and very tasty.

After dinner, our NYE was fairly mundane - some sparkling wine, some ginger beer, a few phone calls (to use up some bonus credit, of course), a trip to the street where we were able to see one of Townsville's fireworks from the 8pm display, and then The Truth About Cats and Dogs on telly. Given how much we had eaten, we were pretty sleepy, but we managed to stay up until midnight. 

Maybe it wasn't what most people consider a fun way to spend a big party night, but at least it was in keeping with the very low-key nature of our week!

Plant Essentials

I don't go in for paid advertisements or anything like that on my blog, but I wanted to take a minute to rave about a local shop that I love.

Plant Essentials in Townsville city is a natural beauty store, and they also sell a bit of food, including excellent raw chocolates. They carry lots of vegan and organic product lines, but they also make their own, which is what I really like.

The ingredients are straightforward, mostly organic, and all plant-based.

And they are made locally, which I love.

They even sell their own mineral makeup which is far more affordable than the other aussie brands I was using before.

Last time I was there I grabbed some stainless steel waterbottles for Andy and I, which I've already plastered with my Edgar's Mission sticker.

They have an online shop if you're interested (but seriously, I'm not advertising or getting anything in return for this plug).

I'm also a fan of their spa because they use all vegan products, and it's cheaper than many of the other spas in town. Andy and I dropped in before christmas for a massage -- a great way to relax before the craziness of christmas!

Banana-rama

Last week I was very generously offered some backyard bananas by fellow Townsvillain Dee, of the blog Cycling Paradise. Of course I accepted, and quickly whipped up a batch of biscuits as payment. When she dropped them off, I was a little taken aback...

How on earth would I be able to use up 4 1/2 big bunches of lady finger bananas, especially given that Andy's away?

A week and a half later, I needn't have worried. I've eated a lot of bananas, in a variety of different forms. First, though, I peeled one whole bunch and put it straight into the freezer for later use.

I've been having lots of sliced banana on my morning muesli.

I had a banana split, with mango and crushed peanuts on vanilla soy ice cream.

Sunday I spent a while baking, to replenish the freezer with post-bike ride snacks and morning tea food. First, spiced banana empanadas. The empanada dough recipe is from The Tropical Vegan Kitchen, but instead of using pumpkin for the filling as she suggests, I used mashed banana mixed with cinnamon and crystallised ginger. Something about these is a little bit funny, texture-wise, but overall I like them.

I also used up some ripe mangoes for Hawaiian Mango-Nut Bread, from The Tropical Vegan Kitchen. Mango, banana, dates, and I used sunflower seeds. This is really yummy, and nice and crunchy on the outside.

All of that got me down to about half...

So I've also been indulging in smoothies. Plain banana + flax + soy milk; sorbet-ish mango + banana + orange juice; and my favourite, banana + chocolate + sunflower butter.

I couldn't let my wealth of bananas pass without venturing into experimental territory, though. I wanted a savoury dish that included bananas, and The Tropical Vegan Kitchen delivered for me. Indian Black Barley Pilaf with Bananas and Oranges, made with plain instead of black barley, and with the addition of spinach. This was an easy dish to make and really just involved dumping everything together and simmering before stirring the fruit in at the end. It was tasty, and the cinnamon and coriander of the dish was well-matched with the tangy orange and the sweet banana.

And just last night I made the "Banana Swirl Cheese Cake" from Vegan Planet. Except, I didn't bother with swirling, and the fact that there is no cream cheese in this recipe leads me to call it "Peanut Butter Banana Pie". This was very simple--make crust, blend tofu with banana, blend tofu with peanut butter, pour into crust and bake. And surprisingly, the tofu seems to have firmed up quite well even without any corn flour or other thickeners. The true test will be today when I take the sides off the pan and try to slice it, so stay tuned for an update.

With all of that, I still have about 10 bananas left at home. With a vegan picnic potluck coming up on Sunday, I'm thinking I have to bring something banana-y. I was thinking about Banana Split Pudding Brownies from Vegan with a Vengeance but am open to other suggestions, so if you know of any great uses for bananas please let me know.

Birthday? Pleh. Birthweek!

To extend my birthday celebrations well beyond my birthday, I cashed in a gift certificate from my mum and sister on Saturday and spent an hour and a half at the spa.

Plant Essentials is a locally-owned shop and wellness spa in Townsville. Their products are free from animal products and are not tested on animals. (The shop isn't entirely vegan as they sell some organic dairy and egg foods.) This is what their website says about their spa products:

All the products used in our treatments are blended in small hand made batches in our Townsville store. Using plant derived ingredients and no animal testing . Where possible we source local, organically farmed & wildcrafted [collected from the wild, not farmed] ingredients. We use recyclable packaging, & most products can be refilled in store for a discount.

These products are not only better for the environment, but better for you. We prefer to choose cruelty free products & ingredients. We believe in fair trade. We believe in uninterrupted treatments, that's why our salon is separated from our fully attended retail store. We are here to help you be and feel as beautiful as you can be, naturally.

I was really happy with my spa experience. The half-hour massage was a welcome break in my usual routine of sitting at a computer desk and riding my bike. The facial left my skin smooth and glowing. And the "feet treat" was a relaxing experience for my toes... and I now have painted toenails, for the first time in several years. I must say, I am theoretically uninterested in things so frivolous as toenail polish... but I love it! My feet feel dressed up, even when I'm barefoot. And since I don't own polish-remover, my toes will be dressed up for a while!

If you live in Townsville, or will ever be near Townsville, I highly recommend a visit to Plant Essentials. Unless you don't want to feel this relaxed:

Now, to counteract some of the self-indulgence I've been guilty of in the past week, I'm lucky enough to have been "tagged" in another meme, of sorts. Vegan_Noodle from Walking the Vegan Line posted about a new blogging phenomenon called "Pay it Forward". Here are the rules:

The rules are simple:
I will send the first three people to leave a comment on this post a handmade gift within the next 365 days (that’s my kind of time frame!)
I am willing to post anywhere in the world, so don’t let that stop you commenting.

The catch is that you have to have a blog and be willing to do the same thing....

If you’ve got a blog come and join in the crafty fun, I promise Ill make something special! Leave me a comment and make sure to leave me a valid email address/link to your blog so that I can contact you for your address.

So, it's pretty simple. The first three people to comment on my blog will get something for free. As long as you're willing, of course, to play along. I'm sorry that I can't give something to everyone who comments... so I offer you another photo of Nacho, doing something weird to Andy's car.