Portuguese Arroz

This is a herb filled and tomatoey rice dish that has just a bit of a spicy kick to it. It is super simple to make and has become one of my favourite ways to eat brown rice. I found it via the recipes page on the Dr. McDougall site. There is a plethora of low fat, easy to make recipes on that site, so do check it out. And yes, they are all vegan!


What you will need:

1 ½ cups yellow onion, finely chopped (optional)
4 teaspoons garlic, minced (optional)
½ - 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper chili flakes
1 bay leaf
1 ½ cups tomatoes, chopped 
2-¼ cups water
1-cup vegetable broth ( I use either bouillon powder or cubes by Marigold or Massel )
3 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley leaves, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1 ½ cups long grain brown rice, uncooked ( I used a mix of short and long grain and it worked out fine.)

Method:

In a large non-stick pan, sauté the onions with ¼ cup water and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 7 minutes.  Add the garlic, crushed red pepper chili flakes and bay leaf and cook for 1 minute, stirring well. 

Add the tomatoes, mix well, and cook until they begin to soften, about 2 minutes.  

Add the remaining water, vegetable broth, parsley and cilantro and stir.  Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil.  Add rice and stir well.  

When the liquid returns to a boil, stir again and cover the pot with a lid and reduce heat to low.  Cook the rice undisturbed for 35 minutes.  

Mix the rice well and continue to cook for another 10 minutes, or until the rice is tender.  Let the rice stand for 5 minutes.  Remove the bay leaf and fluff the rice with a fork.  Serve with fresh ground black pepper and salt to taste, if desired.

Alpine Coconut Yoghurt

Well, here it is. A non-dairy, vegan yoghurt that you can buy in one of the biggest supermarket chains in Australia –namely Woolworths. And it is so smooth and creamy too. Granted, it is made from coconut and so has a coconut flavour to it but I find this product to be less coconut in taste than CoYo and much, much smoother – less of a ‘bite’. This product is cultured so does have a tang, but it is not overly sharp. And while it is still a bit pricey, it does cost less than CoYo.

Because of its richness, I tend to only eat, at most, 2 tablespoons at a time. There is suppose to be two varieties available – ‘Natural’ and ‘Passionfruit’ but I have only seen the former in Woolworths so far.

Maybe one day we will have a commercial non-coconut tasting vegan yoghurt available in Australia. Until then, I am happy to indulge in some of this product, from time to time.

Potato and Fennel Soup

This is a simple recipe that I found and adapted from the book “Party Vegan” by Robin Robertson.  If you are not overly keen on fennel or new to it, you will be pleased to know that the taste of it is not too overpowering in this soup.

What you will need:

1 large shallot, coarsely chopped (optional)

4 cups vegetable broth ( I use either Massel stock cubes or Marigold Bouillon powder. Both are vegan and the former is available in supermarkets, whilst the latter is a health food/organics shop item)

Approx.. 400g potatoes, cut into 2cm cubes

1 large fennel bulb, chopped

½ cup rice/soy milk (I use Bonsoy, as it does not have sweet flavour)

Dried or fresh tarragon

Method:

If using, cook shallot over medium heat, in half a cup of water until soft.

Add broth, potatoes and fennel and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until potatoes are soft – about 20 minutes.

Puree until smooth. Mix in the rice/soy milk and sprinkle tarragon over the top. 

Beanfields Bean and Rice Chips

I found these savoury snacks in the health foods section of Woolworths. They are clearly marked as ‘Vegan’ on the front of the pack and after peering at the ingredients list, I found that they were, indeed, vegan.

So far, I have seen three of the varieties in Woolworths – Salsa, Sea salt, and Nacho. The Nacho is my favourite. Very tasty, very cheesy in its flavour. The Salsa has a smoky sort of flavour to it.

There are also 2 other varieties that I have yet to see them in the shops here in Perth. One is Salt N’ Pepper and the other Unsalted.

And new to the range is Barbecue and Ranch. My partner managed to find small packets of these two in the Loving Hut café in Victoria Park.  The Ranch variety tastes a lot like sour cream and chives to me.

All of these products are gluten free, veganand non-GMO. Hopefully, the other varieties will eventually be available in Woolworths. I have noticed that the current ones sell very well at my local supermarket. 

The Cheeky Vegan

I have been going to the Stirling Farmers Markets on and off again for a while now. Plenty of fresh fruit and veggies to be had there, and some of them organic.Just  lately, though there has been a new stall that has become a firm favourite of mine. It is called “The Cheeky Vegan”. 

Unfortunately, the first time they set up a stall there, it PELTED down with rain and it looked like they were packing up early. I did manage to get some of their wares and have gone back there every Sunday since, and have tried more of their range.

What is on offer is mostly raw vegan dessert type fare, including gluten free items.

 So far, I have tried out their Muesli Bliss balls, the O-raw-eos, the Choc Pie, the Apple C-raw-mble, Choco Cookies, and the Lime and Coconut Tarts. All were delish but my faves would have to be the Apple C-raw-mble and the Lime and Coconut tarts!

Apart from the sweets, there were also raw kale chips on offer, which I tried and liked. These featured sweet potato, tahini and lemon dressing. I do hope there will be more savoury items on offer in the future.

The Stirling Markets are on every Sunday from 7.30am to 11.30am and are situated on Cedric Street, next to the Stirling Council Chambers.

Cheeky Vegan also do catering for functions. Check out their Facebook page for more info.

Quinoa Salad with Fennel and White Beans in a Light Lemon Vinaigrette

I came across this recipe a while ago, whilst looking through “Spork-Fed : Super fun and Flavorful vegan recipes for the Sisters of Spork Foods” by Jenny Engel and Heather Goldberg. I wanted to try in straight away but had two stumbling blocks. Firstly, I could not for the life of me find German mustard. I am not much of a mustard eater but remember years ago, having some by Masterfoods. I looked through two different supermarket chains and could not find it. After some online investigation, I found out that Masterfoods discontinued that variety. I found that quite astounding. Anyway, check out the international/import food stores and you should find some there.

My next challenge was the fennel. It was out of season and so was either hard to find or very small and very expensive. I decided that I would wait until winter when fennel is in season and easy to find. Oh, and the bulbs are big and lush.

I simplified and tweaked the original recipe to suit me.

What you will need:

1 cup quinoa, rinsed well and boiled in 2 cups water until the liquid is absorbed (You can use a mix of colours if you want – red, white, black – it doesn’t matter)

1 can cannellini beans, rinsed

1 large fennel bulb, finely chopped

1 tbsp agave syrup

Juice of half a lemon

1 tsp German mustard

1 tsp cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil

5 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

A big bag of salad greens

Method:

This is really easy.

Throw all of the ingredients together and toss! You can season with salt and black pepper if you wish. Serve it warm.

I found this makes a meal size quantity for 2 people or as a side dish for 4 people.

Easy Spinach, Lime and Ginger Soup

This is so simple to make and tastes good too. I found it “Mouthwatering Vegan” by Miriam Sorrell.

What you will need:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 ½ tsp finely grated/minced fresh ginger

1 medium onion, chopped. Optional. I left it out and soup tasted fine.

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped. Optional. Again, I left it out and the soup was fine without it.

400g frozen spinach or 600 fresh

4 cups of vegetable stock (You can find the Massel range at supermarkets and yes, it is vegan.)

Juice of 1 lime

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

Pinch of ground cardamom

Salt and black pepper to taste

Method:

Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat and add onions and ginger. Saute for a minute and then add garlic. Sauté for another minute.

Add spinach and cook, stirring got a minute or if using fresh, until wilted.

Add stock and cover. Bring to boil and then reduce heat to simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Remove from heat and using a hand held immersion blender, blend the mixture.

Add the lime juice and spices. Process for 1 minute and then serve. Add salt and pepper if you wish.