Wednesday 17 December 2008

*sniffles*

What started yesterday with a bit of sneezing and a slightly sore throat suddenly was a full-blown cold today. *pouts*

But at least my taste buds seem to be unaffected so far. And since I was rather peckish earlier and happened to have all the needed ingredients in the house, I tried Vegan Dad's recipe for mock tuna salad, which can be found here: http://vegandad.blogspot.com/2007/12/tunori-sandwiches.html

It turned out very nice, even though my small food processor had trouble chopping the chickpeas and the nori really fine. I better do it in two batches next time. And since I used the 'Mayonnaise Natur' made by Plamil, which is rather vinegar-y, I added a tiny bit of sugar.

Since we're on the subject of mayonnaise...

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...the plain version of this stuff turns out to be my favourite of all the vegan mayos I've tried so far. Like I said, it has a rather prominent vinegar note, but it's fine for sandwiches and when using it for salads and stuff you can always add a pinch of sugar. It has a nice, smooth texture and a fresh, almost spicy taste that reminds me a bit of Miracle Whip.

I also bought a jar of the garlic version, looking forward to try that one.

Monday 15 December 2008

Death and pasta

Yep, I really do love a certain female colleague. Especially when she spoils me with random pressies like this awesome skull and cross bones cookie cutter.

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Needless to say, I was a very happy ghoul. Now all I need is a quick and easy cookie recipe and then I shall feed my colleagues delightfully creepy cookies.


Anyhoo, let me tell you about what I had for dinner tonight.

Back in my omni days, I used to love a certain version of spaghetti carbonara that a friend came up with. Now, and thanks to some inspiration from Attila Hildmann, I dared to try and veganise it.

And you know what? It turned out really good. Creamy, hearty and very filling.

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What you need:
200g wholewheat spaghetti
170g tinned, sliced mushrooms (or whatever amount comes in a small tin/glass)
80g smoked tofu
200ml soy cream
1 small red onion
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
10g frozen parsley
1 teaspoon veggie stock
salt, black pepper and granulated garlic to taste
a bit of olive oil

Cook the pasta (if you expect me to explain how to do that... get out of here).

Cut the smoked tofu into very fine cubes (about 5mm), then do the same with the onion. Give some olive oil (I used about 2-3 tablespoons) into a frying pan over medium heat. Put the tofu cubes in and roast them, flipping them now and then, till they're nicely golden brown. Add the onion cubes and roast the mix for another few minutes, then add the (drained!) mushrooms and give them at least enough time to warm up or a bit longer if you like them slightly browned as well.

Season the tofu and the veggies with salt, black pepper and garlic to your liking. Add the soy cream and stir in the veggie stock. Let it come to a boil and taste it, adding more salt/pepper/garlic if you wish.

Turn out the stove, give first the nutritional yeast over the sauce, then the pasta and mix all well. Either add the parsley at this point, or wait till the dish is on the plate/s (the latter will probably look nicer).

Enjoy!

Feeds 2-3 people.

Friday 12 December 2008

What's this?

A week ago, I went on a mad online shopping spree at http://vegan-wonderland.de and this is the result:

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Granted, not all of it is edible, there are a few make-up items and toothpaste in there as well.

But back to the food. This time -aside from several "old" favourites like nougat-rings, soy medallions and energy oat snacks - I went for quite a few things I usually don't order, like fake cheeses and vegan cold cuts.

Since I'm (for the most part) a happy vegan without the various fake this and thats on the market, I'm not quite sure what made me do that. Maybe I felt unusually adventurous when I ordered. Or maybe I've simply had a beer too many that day. I honestly don't recall.

Anyway, over the next few weeks there shall be a few product reviews.

Wednesday 10 December 2008

The devil made me do it

This is my first attempt at food blogging.

Why did I decide to give it a try, you wonder?

Well, first and foremost, because I love food. And I love food blogs (especially the ones with plenty of foodporn... mmmmm!). But there don't seem to be many German vegan blogs around, or at least not many that aren't primarily AR/political. So this will be my attempt at contributing to the German vegan food blogosphere (ooookay... remind me to never use that word again).


A few words about me and the contents of this blog:

I'm a "baby" vegan. I transitioned from vegetarianism to veganism only about six months ago and I'm still learning my way around the vegan kitchen.

Sometimes I'm a lazy cook, who likes to use easy sauce mixes and other short cuts.

I'm not a health-nut or a skinny girl. Fresh produce and healthy meals are good things, but I don't watch my calorie and fat intake.

Things I rarely use:
- tomatos (tomato-based sauces are fine with me, other than that I'm not too fond of them)
- olives (only small amounts, pureed, in a pesto every now and then)
- capers (see 'olives')
- rice (I really like sushi, but I hardly ever use rice in other dishes)

Things I never use:
- eggplants/aubergines
- pumpkin (other than carving one out for Halloween)
- brussels sprouts
- raisins
- peaches
- fresh ginger
- lemon grass
- fennel
- red capsicum (maybe I'm neurotic, but I only like the yellow and green ones)
- plums

Yes, my tastebuds are weird like that. But then so's the rest of me.


Have a random food pic for a start:
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The tofu veggie noodle stifry I had the other day (can you tell I'm a bit rubbish with the camera?)