Banana, Date & Pecan Muffins

Grinding the oats and pecans into a flour came from a recipe for banana muffins on VganJar. Just pulse the pecans and oats together in the food processor a couple of times until you have a coarse meal, being careful not to overdo it because you'll end up with a paste. This recipe is based on Isobelle's at VganJar.

Ingredients
1/2 cup pecans, ground into a flour

1/2 cup oats, ground into a flour

1 cup wholemeal flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp of salt

3/4 cup soy milk

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup maple syrup 

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

2 really ripe bananas

5 dates, pitted and roughly chopped

1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped

Add the apple cider vinegar to the soy milk, and leave aside to thicken.

In a large bowl mix together the flours, the baking powder and soda, and the salt.

In another bowl, mash the bananas really well with the maple syrup, vegetable oil and vanilla extract.

Add the soy milk to the flours, mix well, and then add the banana mix. When it is all incorporated, mix through the dates and the pecans. 

Spoon into a muffin tin. For 12 regular sized muffins, bake for about 20 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean), and for 6 jumbo muffins bake for around 30 minutes.

They're really good straight from the oven, or warmed, with a dairy free butter, and I could imagine they'd keep pretty well too (mine were all eaten within a day!).

Almond & Lentil Quinoa Salad

Ingredients
1 tomato, finely diced

1/2 Spanish onion, finely diced

2 Tbsp. parsley leaves, roughly chopped

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Juice and rind of one lemon

3/4 cup almonds

1 can lentils, rinsed and drained, or 400g cooked lentils

3/4 cup uncooked quinoa

Salt and pepper to taste

In a saucepan, cook quinoa according to the directions on the packet.

While the quinoa is cooking, place almonds in an oven preheated to 180 degrees, and roast for around 10 minutes, until they are just starting to brown.

Let the almonds and quinoa cool.
When the quinoa has cooled, in a large bowl combine the remaining olive oil, lemon juice and rind, parsley, salt and pepper.

Mix in the onion, tomato, quinoa, lentils and almond until well combined. Serve chilled. You can eat it at room temperature, but it tastes that much better chilled.

Earl Grey Tea Cupcakes with Lavender Frosting

These cupcakes are pretty temperamental, but after a couple of not so successful attempts and a bit of tweaking this recipe works a treat. If you're going to make these I'd recommend sticking to the recipe to avoid ending up with a sticky, doughy mess! If you can't come across any lavender for the frosting, or lavender's just not your thing, they also taste good with a simple lemon icing. Makes 12 cupcakes.

Ingredients
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup non-dairy butter, melted
1 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
rind of one lemon
1/2 cup boiling water
5 earl grey tea bags
1 3/4 cups plain flour
1/2 cup almond (or any non-dairy) milk
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Line the cupcake tin, and lightly grease.

Place 4 of the tea bags in the boiling water, and leave to the side to infuse.

Mix together the sugars, salt and melted butter until well combined, and the sugar starts to dissolve a little. Mix in the baking soda, vanilla extract and lemon rind. Remove the tea bags from the water, squeezing out as much liquid as you can. Add the tea to the mixture, as well as the tea leaves from the remaining tea bag (just tear it open and add to the mix). When the liquid is well combined, slowly add one cup of flour and mix well. When adding the remaining 3/4 cup flour, alternate with the almond milk, a little bit at a time, until both the milk and flour have been incorporated, without over mixing. Then add the vinegar, stirring after each tablespoon is added.

It is quite a thin batter, but it will sort itself out in the oven! Fill the cupcake liners so that they're 3/4 full, and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick or a knife poked in the middle comes out clean.

Allow to cool before Icing.

Lavender Frosting

Ingredients
1 Tbsp. non-dairy butter
1 cup icing sugar
3 Tbsp. almond milk
5 or 6 sprigs of fresh lavender or 2 tsp. dried lavender
A couple of drops purple food colouring (without it, the lavender makes the icing a go funny brown colour!)

To dry the fresh lavender, spread the flowers over a paper towel in a microwave over, and heat for 1 minute on the highest setting. If the lavender is not yet dry, microwave again in 30 second increments until it is brittle. When it is done, rub between your palms to break up the buds.

Heat the almond milk in a small glass in the microwave. When it is hot, but not boiling, add 2 tsp. dried lavender, and allow to infuse for 5-10 minutes. Strain with a tea strainer, and discard the lavender.

Cream the butter and the icing sugar. Add the lavender infused almond milk, one teaspoon at a time. You will not need to add all of the milk, as it will taste very floral. So continue adding the milk to taste; 1-2 tablespoons for a nice subtle lavender flavour, or 2-3 for a more intense flavour. You may need to add a little more icing sugar if the mixture gets too runny. Finally, add a couple of drops of purple food colouring, and when it has all been well combined, ice the cooled cupcakes.

Lemon Icing

Ingredients
1 cup icing sugar
3-4 tsp. lemon juice

Add the lemon juice to the icing sugar, one teaspoon at a time. It will be quite a thin mixture, so that when icing the cakes it will drip down the sides a little. However if it is too watery, add a bit more icing sugar. Ice the cupcakes, and leave (in the fridge if you would like) for for the icing to set.

Wooly Bully (Closed)

I could easily lose days in this delightful little cafe on Errol St. As well as a simple, tasty menu and a good cup of coffee, Wooly Bully sells rare and vintage records and comic books. Inside, the store is colourful, fun and charming, without being too much. The staff are super friendly and easygoing, but still attentive.

The menu is fitting, featuring bagels, hot rolls, nachos, and mac and cheese, with daily specials always on offer.  There are quite a few vegetarian options, and they're always happy to swap the cheese on most bagels to make them vegan. If you're lucky, they'll have their delicious, garlicky, vegan pesto in stock (it's not always available). They also do real chai tea, which is a huge plus for me!

On the day I had a film in my camera that produces contrasty and very saturated photos, with weird colours. While I've taken some great photos using it before, I guess it's not the best film for food photography! So, unfortunately on this visit I wasn't able to get a very good shot of the food, and the photo I've posted doesn't do the bagel much justice, even after some adjusting (the tomatoes look radioactive!). I'll be sure to go again with a better film next time.

With perfect music choices (as you would expect), and a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere, Wooly Bully is an fine place to spend a lazy Sunday morning.

Wooly Bully

104 Errol St, North Melbourne.

Wooly Bully

The Tofu Shop

The Tofu Shop is a cheep and cheerful eat in Richmond. The menu is completely vegetarian, and on most visits there are plenty of vegan options.

As a first time Tofu Shop diner, the process may seem a bit confusing; there is no fixed menu, but rather arrayed behind the counter is an ever changing selection of dishes based around the tofu that is made in house. Once you have decided on a size ($10 for a small bowl, $16 for a medium, $22 for a large, or takeaway for $9), you can choose as many dishes as you like, as long as they fit in the bowl. On an average night you can pick from baked tofu and veggies, fresh salads, light tofu simmers, fried sweet chilli tofu (so good!), Japanese soy bean gamo balls, creamy coconut curries, chickpea or bean pots, dhal, noodles, spiced rice or cous cous... The list goes on, but it is all made from fresh and seasonal ingredients, and if you'd like, you can top your meal off with satay or tofu sauce, chilli jam, pickled ginger or a few olives.

Each dish is described on a menu card above the counter. At the bottom of each card there is a number key, which lists any ingredients you may potentially want to avoid, including dairy, gluten, nuts and eggs, making it pretty easy to put together a meal to suit your diet. The staff are also really helpful, and if you mention any dietary requirements, they are more than happy to guide you through the menu.

They also offer Soyvlakis, a wrap with a soy falafel and lots of salads and dips, spring rolls, curry puffs and rice balls.

I was initially a bit apprehensive about trying the sweets at the tofu shop... Pineapple and coconut tofu slice?! But I sure am glad I gave them a go. They are nice and sweet, and tofu gives the slices a fluffy, almost cheesecake-ish texture. They are sweetened by only the fruit featured in the slice, so as far as deserts go (in my books at least), they're not all that bad for you. Each week there are three or four flavours to choose from. I have tried a few that I'm not too keen on (Apricot & Cardamon), but I think if you go for a fruit that you like then you can't really go wrong.

Date & Coconut slice with vanilla soy ice cream

My favourite part of a meal at the Tofu Shop is the soft serve soy ice cream. There is a new flavour on offer each week, from the classic vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate flavours, to the summery pina colada, passionfruit, and coconut, and the more interesting pandan and coconut, Japanese green tea, and raspberry rosewater. The coconut flavours do contain casein, so if you're avoiding dairy you'll have to give those flavours a miss.

The food at the Tofu shop is consistently delicious, and I always leave feeling very satisfied. While it's certainly not fine dining, it's the perfect place for a quick, wholesome and delicious vegetarian meal.

The Tofu Shop International
78 Bridge Rd, Richmond.
The Tofu Shop

Cherry Ripe

These taste very much like the original Cherry Ripe. This recipe makes 21 small bars. While coating the bars in chocolate can get a bit fiddly, it is definitely worth the effort.

Ingredients
200g glace cherries
2 1/2 cups desiccated coconut
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup, plus 2 Tbsp. coconut cream
1/3 cup soy condensed milk (if you don't have soy condensed milk you can use another 1/3 cup coconut cream with 1/4 cup caster sugar)
1 Tbsp. cornflour
300g 50% cocoa dark chocolate (I used Simon Coll, but really any dark chocolate can be used)

In a large bowl place half the cherries and the desiccated coconut, and leave aside.

In a saucepan over medium heat, mix the water and remaining cherries  (and sugar if not using condensed milk), and heat for 1-2 minutes. Lower the heat and add the condensed milk and 1/4 cup coconut cream. Stirring constantly, heat until the mixture just beings to bubble. Add the cornflour, and continue to heat until the mixture thickens. You may need to add a little more cornflour if your mixture does not thicken.

Remove coconut cream mixture from the stove, pour over the cherries and desiccated coconut, and mix until all ingredients are well combined.

Line a 9"x9" square cake tin with cling wrap, leaving enough overhang to cover the tin again. Spoon the mixture into the cake tin evenly, and pack in firmly with a spoon. Pull the remaining cling wrap over the baking tray, so that the mixture is completely covered. Flatten the mixture with your hands over the cling wrap so that the mixture is packed into the tin as firmly as possible. Leave in the fridge for at least two hours. The longer you leave it in the fridge, the easier it will be to handle.

The Cherry Ripe filling is ready when you are able to cut it into bite sized bars without them falling apart. If you cannot do this, refrigerate a little longer, or even try the freezer. When the filling is ready, cut the slice into little bars. Leave in the fridge while you prepare the chocolate.

In a glass bowl over a simmering saucepan of water, place the chocolate and 1 Tbsp. of coconut cream. Constantly stirring, heat until the chocolate melts. Make sure the water doesn't get too hot, because the chocolate will burn and get all lumpy (it's not very nice!). Every chocolate will behave differently, so only add the remaining 1 Tbsp. coconut cream if you need to thin down the mixture, or you may even need to add more than 1 Tbsp. The chocolate should be thin enough to coat the bars, but not so thin as to not set properly.

When the chocolate has melted, remove the saucepan from the heat, but leave the glass bowl sitting over the saucepan. Dip the cherry bars into the chocolate mix one at a time, making sure they're completely covered in chocolate. When all the bars have been coated, place in the fridge on a tray lined with baking paper or cling wrap, and refrigerate until the chocolate sets. Store in the fridge.

Update: I just came across a really good technique for coating the bars in chocolate, with clear instructions and photos to boot. I sure wish I had stumbled across this before my clumsy attempts at coating the bars! You'll find the instructions here. 

Mushroom & Zucchini Tofu Frittata

In my egg eating days I used to love dill in omeletts and scrambled eggs. The texture from baking the silken (not firm or soft) tofu, with a heap of dill and a dash of white pepper to serve, is just like that of the scrambled eggs I grew up eating. Firm tofu can be used too for a firmer (duh!) frittata if that's what you'd prefer, but I would only bake at 180 degrees for not such a long time, and would use two rather than three packs of tofu.

Ingredients
900g silken tofu (three packs)

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 small red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed

1/4 green capsicum, diced

2 button mushrooms, thinly sliced

1/4 zucchini, thinly sliced
A good handful of baby spinach 

1 Tbsp. roughly chopped dill or basil (or more if you're a dill freak like me)
Salt and Pepper to taste

1 tsp. smoked paprika 

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Drain the tofu, and in an oven safe dish break up with a fork until of a relatively smooth consistency. 

In a small frying pan, fry onion, garlic, capsicum and mushrooms for a few minutes until the moisture is released from the mushrooms and they soften. Add the spinach, and when it begins to wilt, stir trough the dill or basil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the veggie mix to the tofu. Mix the veggies through, until they're spread evenly throughout the dish. Sprinkle smoked paprika over the top of frittata, and place in the oven. 

Immediately turn the temperature up to 230 degrees, and bake for 40-45 minutes. At first, the tofu will bubble furiously (230 degrees is pretty hot!), but it will calm down after about half an hour when the tofu starts to firm up. At this point, turn the oven down to 200 degrees and bake for a further 15 minutes.

Take the frittata out of the oven, and let it cool until it starts to come unstuck from the dish at the sides and serve.