LaZuppa Classic Bowls

I am finding that more and more vegan friendly products are showing up on our supermarkets, which is great. My latest discovery is the LaZuppa Classic Bowls range. These are available in Coles and Woolworths, found in the same section that has the canned and packet soups. Whilst not all the range is vegan, a lot of it is.




The portions sizes are perfect for lunch, as they are the equivalent of a good sized bowl of soup. I have been having one a week for lunch at work, during the cooler months. All you need is microwave oven and about two minutes. Easy.




I have tried all the vegan varieties and they all get the 'thumbs up' from me: Spinach and Chickpea; Pumpkin; Minestrone; Ribbolita Tuscan Vegetables;  and Moroccan Pumpkin with Chickpea. They are as close to home made tasting soup that I found on store shelves, so far.
And they are also gluten free!

Mung Bean Casserole

One of the things I love about being vegan, is trying out new things. Before giving this recipe a go, I had never eaten or cooked with mung beans or fenugreek seeds. I had no idea what they would taste like, but I thought what the hell, I will give them a go.

I found this recipe in the cook book "Veggiestan : a vegetable lover's tour of the Middle East" by Sally Butcher. I tweaked the original recipe a bit to suit me. I must admit it took a fair bit of looking to find the mung beans. There were none in the supermarkets but I did find some in health food shops. The same went for the fenugreek seeds. I would imagine that stores like Kakulas would stock both, so next time I am there, I will stock up, because I have every intention of making this one again. Yes, it was a success!

What you will need:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 garlic cloves, minced (optional)
2cm knob fresh ginger (finely grated)
Dash or two of chilli powder
1 onion, chopped (optional)
2 capsicums, chopped (optional)
2 medium potatoes, chopped into about 2cm cubes
1 tsp turmeric
2 cups mung beans, washed (no need to soak)
1 litre water or veggie stock
250g fresh spinach, roughly chopped or thrown in whole
3 tomatoes, cut into chunks
juice of 1 lime
salt to taste

Method:
Heat the oil in a large pot or wok pan and sprinkle in the fenugreek and cumin seeds. One minute later, add garlic, ginger, chilli, onion and capsicums, if using.  Saute until onions are translucent, stirring often.
Add potatoes and turmeric. Minute later, stir in mung beans and add water.
Bring mixture to the boil and then simmer for 45 minutes.
Add tomatoes and spinach and cook for 10 minutes. Add lime juice and salt to taste.

You can serve this up with rice or bread but I found it very filling on its own.

International Vegetarian Food Fair 2013

I went to this event last year with a friend and rather liked it, so I decided to go back this year, with my

partner. As before, a lot of the food on offer was vegan and was marked clearly as being vegan. In fact, all the signs also listed the ingredients in each dish, which was great.

We didn't arrive at the venue (South Perth Community Center) until several hours into the event, and discovered that some of the foods were already sold out. I missed out on the savory Vietnamese pancake which I really wanted to try this year. Drats!

The place was quite busy - even more so than last year, which was great to see.

We had a walk around the stalls, having a look and deciding on what we wanted to try. Most of the food appeared to be Vietnamese and Thai cuisine. Certainly, all of it was Asian. There was a fair bit of mock meat dishes, some deep fried items, some fruity desserts and my favourite - the Green Papaya Salad. (More on that soon.)

The boyfriend decided to first try the Bean Curd and Seaweed Rolls which contained tofu, carrot, seaweed and mock ham made of soy. I wasn't a fan of the ham as it tasted way too much like the 'real thing' but the boyfriend seemed to have enjoyed it.

We then tried a sample of Fried Coconut Cake. We were won over and bought a pack to take home.

After loading up with some Taro and Sweet Potato Rolls and some Samosas, I thought I had better try something that wasn't deep fried  - the Green Papaya Salad.
Never before had I eaten green papaya and certainly not in a salad that combined it with tomatoes, soy sauce, peanuts, carrot, chilli, lemon and something called 'salted bean'.

I was asked how spicy I wanted it and I opted for 'not very'. I watched as the ladies at the stall added the ingredients into very large mortar and pestles and started pounding away at it. Before I knew it, I was handed the salad in a container. When I tried it, I was so impressed. The taste sensations! A bit spicy, a bit salty, juicy, crunchy, and the tomatoes went so well with it all. I did not eat it all in one go. I ate half and then the rest a bit later, and  I have to say that it tasted even better once it had 'stood' for a while. I will have to try and track down the recipe for this!

I am definitely planning to go again next year but earlier next time, before some of the dishes on offer disappear!

Zafferano Restaurant

I had never been to Zafferano Restaurant before, it being out of my price range, but a small group of friends and I won some vouchers to dine there, so we got together for lunch. We rang and booked a table in advance and made sure to mention that we were all vegans and asked if they were able to accommodate us. The answer was 'Yes', so when we arrived, we were presented with a menu that they had specially put together for us, which included entree and main options.

For the entree, I and a few of my party, opted for the sweetpea risotto, which featured fresh garden peas, bound in a saffron risotto and garnished with extra virgin olive oil. Oddly enough, this dish had a 'fishy' flavour to it - so much so, that we had to check with the chef that it was, indeed vegan. We were assured it was, and it was suggested that its 'fishy' flavour came from the stock, which took a week to prepare. whatever gave it that flavour, it wasn't a favourite with us.

Thankfully, my main was a delicious pasta dish, which included chilli, rocket and fresh herbs, in fresh lemon and extra virgin olive oil.

Others had the mushroom risotto which featured slow roasted field mushrooms, and I was told it was very tasty.

Also meeting approval was the pumpkin salad, which was made up of roasted pumpkin, cherry tomatoes and rocket, in an almond and poppy seed dressing. 

As there were no desserts listed in our menu, the chef came out and spoke to us, offering a few suitable options. These were basically sorbets with either strawberries, peaches or bananas, preapred in various ways. We all tried a bit of all three of these and it was hard to pick a favourite!

All in all, we enjoyed our lunch. The staff were friendly and helpful and the chef was accommodating and happy to come to our table and discuss our options.

The view we had from our outdoor table, was lovely, as the restaurant is situated right on the Swan River.

The downside to the restaurant is that it is very expensive (on average, the entrees cost $12 to $27, the mains up to $40, the desserts around $15) and the portions on the small side.   

But if you can afford it, and want a 'finer'dining experience, then by all means give this restaurant a go - just make sure you give them sufficient notice that you will be requiring a full vegan menu.

Zafferano Restaurant is situated at 173 Mounts Bay Road (Old Swan Brewery) in Crawley. 

They are open Monday to Sunday Noon to late. Breakfast available on the weekends 8am .

Coles Simply Gluten Free Quinoa Range

This is a nice little range that Coles have put out for those who have an allergy or intolerance to gluten.

I was a bit wary at first, however, as to whether these products were suitable for vegans, as there was no indication as to the type of emulsifier used. Some are plant derived, some animal.

I ended up emailing Coles and they stated:

Upon receipt of your correspondence, we were in contact with our National Quality Team. They have advised that this is vegetable based emulsifier. We do not use the animal source in our products.



Great news!
There are three varieties available - the plain quinoa, the Moroccan style brown rice and quinoa , and the Mexican style brown rice and quiona, which is my favourite, as it has quite a bit of 'kick' to it. NOTE: the Moroccan contains milk so avoid that one!

They are easy to use - just heat up in a microwave - so they are good to take to work for lunch. I like to heat and then add to some raw vegetables.
These are also very handy when travelling, as they do not need refrigeration.

You can find them in Coles supermarkets, in their very own 'Simply Gluten Free' section.

Sanitarium Vegie Delights Chilli Non Carne and Chickpea Masala Curry

Naturally, home made curry and chilli tastes the best, but for those days when you come home from work and are too tired to cook, I have found steaming some rice and adding a can of one of these, does the trick. Best if you heat before you add but I have been known to eat them unheated and they taste fine.

Both are vegan and gluten free, and are available from the health foods section of Woolworths supermarkets. My partner likes the Chilli one but I find it a bit too hot and spicy, so I prefer the Curry, which although is spicy, isn't overly strong.

Like I said, it is good of steamed rice, but I have know to throw it on some soft rice noodles. On toast is another good option.

gopicnic Ready-to-eat-meals

These are little boxes of vegan and gluten free yum that my partner and I like to take with us when we are out walking for the day, in a park, the bush, whatever, and don't feel like having to pack a picnic's worth of food AND carry it with us as we walk. With this box of treats, we can just stop every now and then and have a 'course'. Best of all, nothing needs to be refrigerated.

There are usually 5 items in each pack, basically consisting of a type of cracker, dip, trail mix, fruity snack and dessert. One pack per person is the way to go but we share, as these little beauties are a bit pricey.

According to their website, there are several vegan varieties to choose from, however, we have only seen and tried 3 of them: the Sunbutter and crackers, the Hummus and crackers, and the Black bean dip and plantain chips.

The only place we have seen these being sold is the Victoria Park Loving Hut cafe. If you spot these anywhere else in Perth, please let me know!