Microwave Baked Potatoes with Happy Tuna Salad

Remember me?

I'm not sure what happened but somewhere along the way I lost my blogging mojo. Not just blogging but also reading blogs, have over 100 posts in my google reader and I'm not even curious.

I've lost my blogging enthusiasm before and it always returns, or I kind of force myself to blog, but someone wisely said its not a chore, do it when you feel like it. I'm not sure where this leaves this blog, at the moment am going to leave it and see if the renthusiasm eturns, but if it never returns then maybe its time to say goodbye or to make some changes. Does anyone else suffer from blogging burnout?

I have several things to post about including awesome food in Sydney but instead i'm blogging about about the one thing that I kind of want to blog about.

I had day surgery to remove endometriosis last week and my recovery has been a lot longer and worse than I expected. My friend Eve very kindly offered me her microwave to borrow while I recover and she moves house. I've generally been quite anti microwave, haven't owned one since moving out. However it has come in super handy over last week, in heating up a heatpack more times than I can count, reheating my lunches when I'm home alone and making this. I've become so used to it that I think when I return it I'll get my own. Also look forward to making mug cake, melting chocolate and more.

Troy and Bec come over one night to visit me last week and showed Toby how to make baked potatoes or jacket potatoes in the microwave. It was my idea to add the happy tuna salad. This dish has been the best comfort food. Is there anything more satisying than melted margaine on baked potato? On second thought, don't answer that!

For the record I don't really think it tastes anything like tuna, but its delicious in its own right.

Happy Tuna Salad from VeganMania

1 1/2 cooked or canned chickpeas
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 Tbsp chopped sweet pickles (we sometimes skip this)
2 Tbsp sweet pickle juice or brine
3/4 cup vegan mayo
1 Tbsp old bay seasoning (never used it)
1 Tbsp of prepared mustard
pinch of dried kelp powder (I tend to use dulse flakes)

Mash chickpeas in food processor or with masher. Mix in remaining ingredients. Taste and adjust to your liking.

 Easy 'baked' potatoes:
4 small-medium 'washed' potatoes

Wash potatoes, prick each one with a fork several times. Place potatoes on folded paper towel,  and wrap it lightly arou d potatoes. Microwave for 10 minutes.

Remove from microwave, and cover in foil for another 10 minutes.

Cut open and serve with toppings.

They are not as crispy on the outside but are so quick and easy that I don't mind at all.


Today they were topped with happy tuna salad, margarine, cheezly and sour cream.

Easy Gluten Free Kimchi Pancakes

The inspiration for this recipe come from your hairdresser and friend Jilly, while she was colouring my hair a few weeks ago we were discussing dinner options and she told me that she regularly makes kimchi pancakes and adds whatever vegies inside and they are super easy to make. Sometimes inspiration comes form unusual places and situations. This was made last night when we had run out of vegies so I kept it simple but it was still delicious.

I got some vegetarian kimchi from the korean supermarket opposite the victoria market on elizabeth street since my lost asian supermarket only stocked non veg kimchi. It's huge but I wanted to make a few things with it!



Kimchi Pancakes - Kimchijeon from maagnchi. She has a video too!


Directions:
1 cup of chopped kimchi
3 tbs of kimchi juice (I used about 1 and half)
2 tbs chopped onion ( I skipped this)
½ ts salt
½ ts sugar
½ cup flour (all purpose flour) (I used brown rice flour to make it gluten free)
¼ cup of water

1. Mix all ingredients in bowl
2. Heat up a non-stick pan over medium high heat and drizzle about 2 tbs oil.
3. Place the mixture of kimchi pancake batter on the pan and spread it thinly and evenly with a spoon.
4. Cook it for 1-1 ½ minutes until the bottom gets golden brown and crispy.
5. Turn it over with a spatula or flip it.
6. Lower the heat to medium and cook for another 1½ minutes.
7. Turn it over one more time and cook for 30 seconds before transfering it to a serving plate.
   
   

 

Mine kind of fell apart a little when I tried to flip it which just meant that I didn't need to cut it. I served it with mayo and fried onions. I would love some spring onions on it though like maanghci did. Next time I might also use a little less kimchi as it was slightly too spicy for Toby and more veggies, am thinking shredded carrots, zuhhini etc. I really can't believe how easy it is though!

My next post is korean inspired too, just need some korean desserts to keep with this weeks theme, any suggestions?

Choc Banana Chia Parfait- Vegan Mofo Day 23

Another healthy dessert. This uses the healthy chia seeds. I got the inspiration from Food Doodles but the recipes uses more fruit and jam but I liked this simple version

Chocolate Chia Seed Pudding

Recipe from Love Veggies and Yoga  

• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1/2 C  unsweetened soy milk (or use rice, almond etc) (I found we had to use lots more like 3/4-1 cup)
• 2 tbsp agave, brown rice syrup, maple syrup or stevia to taste (I used agave)
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix all the ingredients together.  It may take a little time to incorporate the cocoa, but eventually it will. After everything is mixed, cover and leave on your counter for 20 minutes before enjoying.  Or you can leave it in the fridge overnight and enjoy the next day.

I then made a parfait by layering it with banana pieces

It reminded me of chocolate pudding with bananas that I used to eat as a child but is obviously much healthier. Btw, did you know that bananas should be returning to cheaper prices soon in Australia! I've really missed eating them after the floods.

Toby and I have eaten this for a few days with a few different variations.  It's a great dessert but also a great sweet breakfast for when you are rushed particularly if you substitute frozen blueberries and leave it the night before.

Dan's GF Vegan Mug Cake- 3 Versions

I'm sure most of you have seen the mug cake craze, but I haven't seen many which are both gluten free and vegan. My friend Dan is vegan and so obsessed with mug cake that she made a facebook page devoted to it.  Dan's other facebook group is called Dan's pictorial vegan recipes and consists of step by step vegan recipes using photos, just like these ones below. Recently when we visited she showed us how to make three different variations and kindly allowed us to blog about it. Sorry about the quality, I was using my phone. First the traditional chocolate one.

Start by using 1 heaped tablespoon of margarine

Place in a microwave for 30 seconds to melt.

Add 2 Tablespoons of gf self raising flour (we used orgran)

Add a tablespoon of cocoa

Add 2 tablespoons of sugar

Then a dash of vanilla essence

We used a small latte glass so the portion was smaller than her regular mug cake recipe. So double it if using a regular mug! Mix all together and microwave for 3 minutes. Please note cooking times vary, so watch closely and may need to check at 2 minutes.

And voila a cake!

Look how awesome the texture is. The chocolate versions remind me of chocolate pudding that we used to have at xmas time.

The second variation, involves using a tablespoon of caramel, we used this one. It was added at the end, right before we microwaved it.

The third variation was my fave! This one is called Berry Almond mug cake. You start with some frozen berrries.

Add some maple syrup.

Add 1 tablespoon of gf self raising flour, 1 tablespoon of almond meal and 2 tablespoons of sugar.

Stir and mix in mug but include bowl under mug.

See why it is important to use a bowl underneath.

You can then tip the mug upside down for an amazing almond berry cake. This is to die for!

                     

The hot berries go so well with this cake and the texture is fluffy just like regular cake.It is seriously one of the best things I have ever eaten.These recipes make me want to get a microwave.

Sour Cherry Ripe Bites- Vegan Mofo Day 7

I have had a bag of dried cherries from costco for about 6 months and not known what to do with them until I stumbled across this recipe. There are other cherry themed desserts on friends blogs which I also want to try but this fulfilled my number 1 requirement to be super easy and quick. I used black cherry jam which resulted in a sour cherry flavour which make them quite different from regular cherry ripes although just as delicious. I think Toby was glad as he loves sour cherries. I had some issues with the mixture staying together when I tried to cut it so ended up with bites instead of bars. I'm going to experiment with regular jam next time.

Sour Cherry Ripe Bites Cherry "Ripe-Off" Candy Bars from cherryteacakes

1 cup shredded coconut 

3/4 cup cherry preserves, pureed (I used black cherry jam)
1/4 cup finely chopped dried cherries (sour if you have them)

1 cup dark chocolate chips

Mix coconut, cherry preserves, and dried cherries together. Adjust dry to wet ratio as needed until you have a paste that can be molded into candy bars. Mold into a quarter inch thick rectangle. Place in freezer for half an hour, then cut into bars or bite sizes.

Melt chocolate chips and pour over bars to cover. Place back in the freezer for five minutes until chocolate is fully set. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Ginger Ripple Cake-Vegan Mofo Day 1

I'm a bit nervous about signing up for vegan mofo again. What have I gotten myself into it? It was quite tricky last year  when we blogged every day for a whole month but it did result in me being a bit more creative with meals and its all for a great reason, right? To celebrate a whole month of vegan food by writing about it as much as possible.



To kick start I want to share my dessert recipe which I made for the vegmel potluck, this is perhaps the laciest dessert that I have ever made but was still quite tasty I think.

It's a version of the great aussie chocolate ripple cake which is generally made from chocolate cookies called ripple biscuits and cream, like this. According to wikipedia there are similar versions in other countries  and it's called icebox cake in the US.

Ginger Ripple Cake adapted from Fat Fuelled Vegan's recipe
2 packets of Leda Gluten Free gingernut biscuits
2 packets of soyatoo topping cream
2 tablespoons of  Frangelico (optional)
roughly 1 cup of  frozenbluberries (optional)

Mix the frozen blueberries and frangelico into the cream, put a thin layer of cream on the bottom of bowl, then add a layer of biscuits, repeat until all the biscuits are finish and top with last layer of cream. Allow to sit for at least 2 hours so the biscuits soften. Done!

I would also halve this recipe unless you were making it for a large group of people. I altered two things to his original recipe, one I decided to add frozen blueberries to the cream and to the top and I used ready made vegan cream and a bit of left over alcohol and cream from the tiramisu. Next time I would probably leave out the blueberries, they just seemed kind of out of place and I don't think the frangelico really added anything to it flavour wise.

I decorated it with a V for  planet vegmel.

Chocolate Spiders- Gluten Free Childhood Favourite

Despite my spider phobia, I grew up enjoying two spider experiences: coke (and various other flavour) spiders aka ice cream soda, float etc and chocolate spiders. I think Chocolate spiders were my first introduction to the choc and peanut butter combo which I am now addicted to.

I remember making these for parties and sleepovers etc in my teenage years. The original recipe called for a packet of Changs fried noodles which are wheat based but they recently started making a rice variety which allowed me to recreate this childhood favourite.

I also discovered this new brand of Coles Belgian dark chocolate which is vegan. I swear that they used to have a Belgian variety which wasn't vegan, or was I dreaming?





Chocolate Spiders from Chang's Fine Asian Foods

1 pkt Chang’s Original Fried Noodles (100g)
2 Tbspns Crunchy Peanut Butter
200g Chocolate (2 100g blocks)

Microwave chocolate and peanut butter in microwave safe mixing bowl for about 30 seconds on high.  If not melted, then microwave again in 5 second intervals. Mix well until it is a smooth paste. (I just melted it in a double boiler). Add noodles and coat them well. Spoon the mixture onto grease-proof paper, or into individual paper patty pans. Using heaped teaspoons, this mixture will yield 30 to 40 spiders.
Place in refrigerator until set.

They kind of look like spiders. The texture was not quite as good as the wheat ones but taste wise they are just as good. I had some issues getting them to stick together too, but once I started making smaller ones they were fine.

2 Ingredient Chocolate Chia Pudding

Yes this only requires chia seeds and choc soy milk. We are obsessed with vitasoy chocolate milk at the moment and I figured this was probably a healthier way to consume it.

Chocolate Chia Pudding from Foods for Life

[serves 4]

2 cups chocolate soy milk

5 to 6 tablespoons raw chia seeds (depending on how thick you want it)

Berries (optional)

Combine chia seeds with chocolate soy milk and stir vigorously with a fork for several minutes. Let sit for 15 minutes and stir again until the chia seeds are well blended and separated. Let the mixture sit out for an hour, stir one more time and refrigerate at least one day until thickened and firm. (I think I left it for 3-4 hours)/ This is a good dessert to make a day or two in advance in order to give it time to set. When ready to serve, top with strawberries or raspberries and divide into 4 small serving dishes.

I enjoyed this, it's just like eating really thick chocolate soy milk. Although I thought it could be a tad sweeter, next time I might add some maple syrup and/or cinnamon.

One Ingredient Vegan Soft Serve

This is ridiculous easy. So easy that I had my doubts when Tahn shared the recipe but I now agree with choosing raw that this will change your life. But the texture really is like soft serve and best of all it's surprisingly tasty, healthy and super quick.

So you cut bananas into pieces and freeze. Then place frozen bananas in the food processor and voila:

I have a confession to make though, I was lazy and a week ago froze 3 bananas with the skin on. Big mistake! I couldn't take the skin off frozen so had to wait til they were partially defrosted and then try to get the skin off when they were all mushy which took  quite a while. So save yourself the trouble people!

We served it to plain to Richmond Bec and then Toby and I tried some with chocolate peanut butter on top! Terry very kindly brought some of this over from the states because I was curious. It is so frigging amazing.  I just can't decide what to do with it next, although it's tempting to just eat it out of the jar, I want to do something special with it, any ideas?

And then we used a tiny bit of the leftover banana soft serve and added frozen blueberries to make blueberry flavoured ice cream. This was great too, although it meant the texture wasn't as smooth. I love a bit of crunch in ice cream though so enjoyed this.

I look forward to experimenting with this further will all of these hot days coming up.

Vegan Ice Magic In Minutes

I used to love ice magic or magic shell as it appears to be called in the US but Toby has never had it. For those of you who aren't familiar it's a chocolate topping that hardens when put on ice cream to make a nice crunchy topping. I've been admiring a few recipes for vegan magic ice cream for a few weeks including Vegan Dad's recipe but quickly settled on this once because it is easier and I figured coconut oil was better for you. I had a hard time finding coconut oil but eventually found it at IGA (in Brunswick) so could give this incredibly simple recipe a go:


HomeMade Ice Magic or Magic Shell from the Accidental Vegetarian

1 cup coconut oil

about 1-2 cups semi-sweet, bittersweet, or dark chocolate chips or chunks

1. Melt the coconut oil over very low heat in a small saucepan.

2. A little at a time, whisk in the chocolate chips, until the mixture resembles very thin, chocolate syrup. We needed about 1 1/2 cups.
 
Pour over ice cream and allow it to set, took about 30 seconds:

The accidental vegetarian suggests keeping it at room temperature but I have been keeping it in the fridge for a few days and simply reheating it when I wanted more. I would suggest making half or even a quarter the amount since this makes a lot.

It tasted and felt just as I had remembered it. So making this again and again.

Agave Cinnamon Almond Balls

These are so easy and quick to make, took me about 5 minutes in total. Plus they are healthy, raw, contain only 3 ingredients and are alkaline diet friendly. More on the alkaline thing later. I think quick recipes deserve quick blog posts.

This is based on the raw almond honey and cinnamon balls from Gone Raw.

As the author suggested, you could coat it coconut or something else. The cinnamon flavour is strong, so if you don't love it I would suggest using something else.

Makes 10 tiny balls

Ingredients: 

a few handful of almonds
about 2 tablespoons of agave ( I think you could possibly use a bit less)
cinnamon for coating

Preparation: 

Crush the almonds in a food processor, add agave to make it into thick paste. Pour cinnamon in a little plate, take a bit of almond mixture, roll it into a ball, and coat it with cinnamon.

Fudge Babies and Sandwiches- Vegan Mofo Day 28

I stumbled Chocolate Covered Katie's Fudge Babies and was intrigued, exactly how good could cocoa powder, dates and cashews combined taste?

Katie has various flavours on her blog, so I made a double batch of the hot chocolate fudge babies so I could experiment with a couple.

Hot Chocolate fudge babies

• 30 grams cashews
• 80 grams dates
• 5 grams (1T) dark cocoa powder ( i used regular cocoa powder)

1. Chop/blend all the ingredients, using a food processor, Magic Bullet, etc. 
2. Roll into cutey-pie little balls or make sandwiches.  (Use plastic wrap if you need to.)

First I just followed the standard recipe above and used bunny cookie cutters to cut out bunnies.

Then I added some peanut butter and made sandwiches. They did look cute but I felt like the date flavour kind of overpowered the other flavours.

So then I made two types of balls or 'babies' as she calls them.  First I added choc chips and simply rolled into balls. For the last batch I put the mixture with the choc chips back into the food processor and added as sprinkling of cinnamon and golden syrup. The last batch was by far my favourite. The cinnamon and golden syrup watered down the date flavour a little and the choc chips were cut down a little which meant that there was more chocolate bits. It just resulted in a such a nice combination. I think maple syrup would have been good too but we didn't have any. They are definitely a lot healthier than other desserts I normally make and they do remind me of lara bars. I think these would make a great traveling snack too.

Pasta with toasted garlic breadcrumbs

This dish was adapted from a recipe on recipezaar, it was super easy and meant not having going to the shops to make dinner. Have you noticed a lazy theme with our dinners lately? I'm trying to do work like crazy on my thesis and Mr T is injured again.

• 500 grams pasta
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves,
  
• 3 pieces of stale bread chopped coarsely into crumbs
• salt and pepper
  

1. Cook pasta.
2. Meanwhile, in a large pan, heat the oil over medium heat.
3. Add the garlic and saute just until turning color.
4. Add the breadcrumbs, salt and pepper to taste, and toast to light golden.
5. Drain the pasta and place in a hot bowl.
6. Pour all but 1 cup of the crumbs on the pasta along with the water and toss.
7. Divide between 4 hot plates and sprinkle reserved crumbs over each serving.

We also added some white beans, zucchini and nooch.

Mr T said that he read somewhere that breadcrumbs were originally used as a poor man's cheese in Italy. I can kind of see why.

Elizabeth's red wine lentils with pasta and chorizo

We made this after the potluck, with a couple of leftover chorizo sausages, which we fried and crumbled. They were friends, but I look forward to trying these with the italian inspired sausages in vegan brunch. This recipe was originally suggested by Elizabeth and the converted into a recipe by Cindy. Vicki also made it and raved about it. I made a few more alterations though. I didn't use any fresh herbs and added marjoram because it rocks and I hate rosemary. I decided to skip the polenta all together and added the sauce to to pasta. The sauce was yummy and was a great change t the regular tomato based lentil pasta sauces that I normally make.

Red wine lentils sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
1 carrot
2-3 sticks of celery
2 x 400g cans lentils, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup red wine
1 1/2 cups 'chicken' stock
1 teaspoon dried sage powder
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon marjoram
2 large chorizo sausages (from vegan brunch)
Nooch (optional)

Bring the oil to medium heat in a frypan, then saute the onion and garlic in it for 2 minutes. Add the carrot and celery and saute for a further 5 minutes. Stir through the lentils, wine, stock and herbs and simmer the lot until the lentils are tender and the sauce has reduced a little.

Pop the sausages under the grill, turning them once or twice, until they're crisp on the outside but still tender in the middle. Slice them into generous chunks and add them to the simmering lentils.

Add to pasta and add some nooch if you feel inclined.

I've added a new label: weeknight dinner, for dishes that I want to make again on a regular basis and aren't super time consuming and this recipe certainly fits into.