Bodhis Wheat Free Pizza Bases

I discovered these gluten free pizza bases at the Coles Gluten Free Expo this year and gave them a go, after confirming that they were also vegan.
In the past, I had trouble finding a gluten free base that didn't also have 'milk solids' listed in its ingredients.
The only ones I could find were the Simply Wize ones, which although are good, are rather small in size.
The Bodhis ones are larger, have nicer texture and flavour to them. Hands down the best gluten free vegan pizza bases I have tasted so far.
Good news is, they are not only available in some health food shops, but also in Coles supermarkets, in the bread section. Their shelf life isn't all that long, so make sure that when you buy them, you plan to use them soon.
A pack, which contains 2 bases, costs around $5-6.

Recipe: Creamy Potato Soup

I have really been using my slow cooker, lately, thanks to "The Vegan Slow Cooker" by Kathy Hester. This is another recipe I lifted from her cookbook. This is good on its own or you can use it as a base for other creamy soups, adding broccoli, spinach or carrots.

What you will need:
4 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cut into medium sized cubes.
1 clove garlic (optional)
2 cups water
2 tbsp chicken flavoured vegan bouillon (I use Massel brand, available in supermarkets
1 sprig fresh rosemary
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup soy milk ( I use Bonsoy, as it is not sweet. Available in supermarkets)

Method:
Combine potatoes, garlic (if using), water, bouillon, rosemary, salt and pepper in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
Add the soy milk. Remove rosemary sprig.
Puree the soup with a hand held immersion blender.
You can serve topped with shredded vegan cheddar cheese, if you like.

Recipe: Hungarian Mushroom Soup

Another slow cooker recipe from "The Vegan Slow Cooker" by Kathy Hester. This one is  a thick, creamy soup, and very easy to make.

What you will need for the Sour Cream:
1 1/2 cups raw cashews OR equal amount of silken tofu (This is the super soft kind)
1 cup water
juice of half a lemon


Method for the Sour Cream:
Combine the ingredients in a blender and puree until fairly smooth.

What you will need for the soup:
2 to 3 tbsp olive oil
1 medium sized onion, minced (optional)
Approx. 600g mushrooms, chopped
4 cups water
1/2 tbsp vegan chicken flavoured bouillon ( Massel are a good brand. Available in supermarkets.)
Juice of half a lemon
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp paprika

Method for the soup:
If using onion, saute in a pan, over a medium heat, using the olive oil. 3-5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until they begin to brown and give off their liquid, 8-10 minutes.
Combine the sauteed vegetables, water, bouillon, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and paprika in the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
Add the sour cream and sir to combine. Serve.

Recipe: Cheezy Squares

I am not one of those people who can just make up delicious concoctions as I go. I kinda need a recipe to follow. But I have a friend (hi Ramona!) who is good at experimenting and she is the one who came up with these. We were going to a quiz night and she brought these along. They were DELICIOUS and not all that hard to do. They are also quite open to interpretation - you can pretty much use your imagination as to what toppings you want to use.
They are best eaten while still warm but they taste fine cold, too.

What you will need:

Sheets of frozen puff pastry. (We used Pampas, which is free of animal ingredients, but just check ingredients list for other brands. There IS gluten free puff pasty available to buy and use but I have found that it just does not puff properly so I use the regular kind.)

Toppings of your choice - sliced black olives, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced red onion, asparagus, broccoli etc.

Small amount of soy milk for brushing.

Cheezy sauce - this is a stock standard white sauce recipe off the back of a cornflour packet, with a sprinkling of nutmeg, salt and nutritional yeast added, to taste.

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
While the pastry sheets are still frozen, score with a knife, crossways to make 4 squares to a sheet. Snap the sheets and place on a baking tray.
When they are slightly more thawed, score them again about 1cm from each edge, along all four sides of each square.
Arrange your toppings on the inside of the scored lines and then top with a dollop of cheezy sauce.
Glaze the edges of the tarts with soy milk, using a pastry brush.
Pop into the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until the exposed pastry edges have browned nicely.

Leave to stand for a few minutes before serving, as it helps to firm up the sauce a bit.

Recipe: Split Pea and Apple Soup

I would not have thought that apple would have gone well with the other ingredients in this soup recipe, but oddly enough, it does.

This recipe is from the book "The Vegan Slow Cooker" by Kathy Hester. As indicated by the title, you will need a slow cooker for this recipe.

This recipe is gluten free.

What you will need:
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 medium sized carrots, chopped
1 medium sized apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
6 cups water
2 tbsp vegan chicken flavoured bouillon (the Massel brand is available in supermarkets and is vegan)
2 cups split peas
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp nutmeg
salt to taste
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Method:
Combine all the ingredients except for the balsamic vinegar. Cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours.
Remove the bay leaf and add the balsamic vinegar. Stir to combine and the puree soup with a hand held immersion blender. Serve.

Recipe: Russian Sauerkraut Apple Salad

I nabbed this super simple recipe from this website.

I know sauerkraut is an acquired taste. My mother, although Greek, spent most of her childhood in Poland, so she often cooked with sauerkraut when I was a child. If you haven't had it before, give it a go. You may be surprised at how tasty it is. Plus, it is full of probiotics, thanks to the fermentation process.

What you will need:
1 can of sauerkraut (about 400g)
2 apples (my favourites are fuji apples)
1 tbsp sugar
fresh chopped parsley, to taste
fresh chopped dill, to taste (optional)

Method:
Cube apples and add to other ingredients. Combine well and serve. Easy!

Vegan feta, anyone?

Coming from a Greek family, I was raised on feta cheese. My favourite way to eat it was with pasta or with watermelon. I have found from experience that it is an acquired taste and if you were not raised eating it, it may take a while for you to get use to it.  Feta also varies a lot, depending on where it is made. The Greek feta, I found was dryer, more crumbly, whilst the Danish was creamier and smoother. Saltiness was another factor. I found the Greek to be saltier.

Why am I going on about dairy feta in a vegan blog? Well, I have actually managed to find a vegan version, which surprised me to no end! I have come across all sorts of vegan cheeses, from cheddar to blue, but never feta. 

Then I heard that the Kakulas stores and some other European import food stores stock a vegan cheese, so I had to go and check it out.

I found some at Kakulas Sister in Nollamara. It was behind the deli counter, and was labelled as 'Fasting/Vegan Feta'. The 'fasting' aspect is for the benefit of their Greek Orthodox clients, who for religious traditions, fast at certain times of the year. For vegans, this means that this feta contains no animal ingredients and I am told, has been confirmed by the highest Greek Orthodox authority in Perth. 

I bought a small block and took it home to crumble it on some pasta. The taste test proved that it leaned more towards the 'creamy' texture, rather than the crumbly and it was very much salty. Some might find it too salty, so I would suggest consuming it in moderation. You'd probably want to do that anyway, as it is quite rich , too.

So, finding vegan feta just goes to prove that if you look, you can pretty much find a vegan version of just about anything!