Mitte

Last weekend the bf and I ventured out of the house for breakfast. We tried Mixed Business but they were still closed for the holidays. The next closest cafe being Mitte, we headed there. I was hoping to find some avocado on toast and, lucky for me, they had some on the menu! (I believe the only other vegan option on the menu besides toast is fruit salad sans yoghurt.) We ordered some coffees and waited for our meals to arrive. It took ages, as the place was so busy people were waiting around 15 minutes to get a table. There's not room for much more than two waitstaff, and I can't imagine their kitchen being very large, so I wasn't really bothered by the wait.

When the food finally came, my dish was a perfectly acceptable half an avocado sprinkled with flake salt and ground pepper, with a small bowl of dijon mustard, two wedges of lemon and three slices of various organic sourdough breads. The breads were lovely and my tummy was filled by the time I was finished eating, but for $10, I would prefer to spend slightly more and get the yummy beans at Mixed Business - it's just a more interesting brekkie for the price.

Vegan Brunch

I love brunch. I love everything to do with brunch - I love mushroom, I love hashbrown, I love coffee. I love toast, I love onion, I love waffles. That is why Vegan Brunch is probably the best cookbook in the world. If I have a lazy weekend morning and happen to have some soft tofu in the fridge, I will. make. that. omelet. This morning it turned out nearly perfect - not too thick, not too thin, cooked to perfection and with some of that awesome Sheese-brand smoked cheddar and balsamic-cooked veggies.

Served with my Dolly Parton mug filled with instant coffee and it's Weekend Heaven. (That's a new place, I just discovered it.)

Homemade Tofu-Mushroom Burger That Actually Tastes Good

Though I've been vegan for about 12 years, I have never attempted to make a veggie burger at home. I have no idea why. I also don't know why the mood suddenly struck to try it out. (It might have something to do with my new food processor making it easier to make almost everything!) This burger actually turned out very well, without much trial and error at all. It is also (aside from the frying) quite healthy. My bf even said he liked this better than any store-bought version!

The first batch I made was without the egg replacer as a binder and the burgers did not stay together all that well. (To be honest, they fell apart all over the place!) The egg replacer worked well as a binder, but you could probably use other alternatives (ground flaxseed, etc.) as well. Makes about 6-8 burgers.


Ingredients:

• 225g medium-soft tofu 
• 3 med-large portobello mushrooms, sliced
• 3 stalks spring onion, sliced
• 2 medium cloves of garlic
• 1/2 carrot, shredded
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs plus extra as needed
• egg replacer equivalent to 2 eggs
• 2 drops liquid smoke
• splash of balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp pine nuts or sesame seeds
• 1 tsp dried vegetable stock
• 1 tsp mixed dried herbs

Combine the tofu, mushrooms, garlic and olive oil in a food processor. Blend until mixed well and ingredients are well combined.  Add liquid smoke, herbs, vinegar, veggie stock and breadcrumbs and mix with a spoon or spatula until well combined. Add egg replacer and stir again until combined. Fold in shredded carrot, sliced spring onion, and sesame seeds. If the mixture seems too wet at this point, add more breadcrumbs.

Allow the mix to cool in the fridge for about 30 minutes or so.

Using breadcrumbs so the mixture doesn't stick to your fingers, roll out balls about two inches in diameter, then flatten to form a patty. Fry with some vegetable oil and serve on a bun with a side of pickles. Some toppings I have tried with this burger:

• a sauce mixture of vegan mayo, dijon mustard and horseradish
• homemade tomato relish
• homemade beetroot relish
• avocado
• caramelised onions
• tomato from my garden
• spinach

Snag Stand, Melbourne Central - UPDATED

Update: I received an e-mail from a Snag Stand rep regarding my review. I would probably return for another try if they did decide to add a vegan menu option:

Hi Louise,

I have read your blog about the service offered at our Melbourne store and would like to apologise on their behalf for not offering any further help with the menu.

In regard to our Vegetarian offer I would like to clarify further,

We import our Vegetarian Sausages from the USA because these were the best, that do not pretend to be meat with great flavour and texture. The intent was to offer a range of Vegetarian Haute Dogs

While we have recently been aware of the vegan approved status of this sausage we are yet to develop a Vegan Haute dog. Initially something that not considered given the volume meat product on our menu.

At present the only item that is certified Vegan approved is our vegetarian sausage while all other relative items are considered Vegan friendly.  I must admit that I do not know whether this fact is of importance to yourself and the Vegan population and would certainly welcome your feedback on this.

Current confirmed Vegan friendly menu items are below

Gluten Free Bread

Vegetarian Sausage – Apple, Potato, Sage and Ginger – ( Spicy Chipotle version arriving soon )

Baby Rocket

Semi Dried Tomatoes

Greek Salsa-Tomatoes, Olive Tapenade, Red onions

Fresh Tomato Salsa – Fresh tomatoes and seasoning

Heinz Tomato Ketchup

Beerenberg Tomato sauce

Fig Balsamic glaze

Gherkin Relish

Beetroot Relish

If you wish to discuss further please do not hesitate to contact me

Kind Regards

Grayson Forbes

Store / Operations Manager

After reading on Where's the Beef? that Snag Stand did vegan sausages, I was excited to see if they matched up to the LOTF Chicago Dog I tried a few weeks ago. I didn't get the chance to find out.

I asked for a veggie sausage to be done vegan, and after a quick discussion with her colleague, the lady taking the orders told me the sausages are vegan but the mushrooms and onions are cooked in butter. I wasn't offered any other options and frankly (pun intended), if the employees have so much trouble understanding what is vegan, I would be reluctant to sample anything. (Why even bother having vegan dogs if you can't actually cater for vegans??)

In the end, my meat-eating companion told me his dog wasn't worth $10 and he preferred the Lord of the Fries option. I popped a note in their feedback box and we decided the next time we're in the mood for some hot dogs, we will visit LOTF or try the new Massive Wieners in Prahran.

Super-pesto!

I couldn't wait to try out my new food processor on a batch of pesto. Thinking today about the pesto I would make in the evening, I decided I wanted to include some extra protein and iron to make this pesto a super-healthy, super-yummy sauce for pasta. (Of course, it can also be used as a dip or a pizza base as well!) Makes enough for six serves of pasta.


Ingredients:

• 1 can of cannellini beans (400g can)
• 1/2 can of butter beans (half of a 400g can)
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup liquid vegetable stock
• 1 heaping cup basil leaves
• 1 giant handful of fresh spinach leaves
• 2-3 cloves garlic (depending on how much you like your garlic!)
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 100g pine nuts
• 1 tsp salt (plus more to taste if necessary)
• 1/2 tsp pepper (plus more to taste if necessary)

Put the cannelinni beans, half the stock, garlic, basil and spinach into your food processor and pulse a few times until it is blended together. Pour in your olive oil, pine nuts, butter beans, salt and pepper and blend until smooth. At this point, you can add more vegetable stock to obtain your desired level of creaminess. If you find the stock is too watery, just blend in some more beans and it should even it out.

AND THAT IS IT!

To add something extra to the dish, I threw some quartered button mushrooms into a pan with a bit of olive oil and some balsamic vinegar and let them cook for about 40 minutes in the oven on low heat, stirring every 10-15 minutes. I served these on top of the pasta and sauce, with a side of corn and a piece of garlic bread.

Summertime Soba Noodle Salad

After a month's absence, I am back. I had a lovely month of Dolly Parton, Uni reunions, Christmas parties and a trip to Tasmania. It was so busy - I hardly had time to cook (much less cook anything interesting!) so I didn't have much to post. Hopefully now that things are a bit quieter (and I am up one awesome food processor!) I can get back into it. In my last post I mentioned an upcoming "Picnic Fortnight" - this will be delayed until I know I have enough time to do it properly.

Today it is 40' Celsius outside (that's around 104' fahrenheit), and though I am sitting in my nice cool house watching movies, it is still lovely to eat a nice cold meal rather than something hot. Here is one of my favourite summertime recipes, also great for picnics!

Ingredients for the "salad":

• 1 pkg soba noodles (3 bundles)

• 1/2 block tofu (the fresh kind from Asian grocers), drained, pressed, then cubed

• 1 small red capsicum, thinly sliced

• 4 stalks green onion, thinly sliced

• 2 tbsp peanuts

• 1 tbsp sesame seeds

• 1 tsp black sesame seeds

• a few grinds of black pepper

• 2 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped

Ingredients for the "dressing":

• 2 tbsp sesame oil

• 1 tbsp peanut oil

• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce

• splash of light soy sauce

• juice of 1/2 lime

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 green chili pepper, thinly sliced

Cook the soba noodles as per the directions on the package. Once cooked, rinse them with cold water and set aside to fully drain. In the meantime, chop your veggies and compile your sauce. For the sauce, just combine all the wet ingredients by whisking them together. Add the garlic and chili, stirring to combine.

Put the drained and cooled soba noodles in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle with a bit of sesame oil and toss with a fork, until the noodles are lightly coated in oil. Throw in the red pepper and green onion and toss again. Now pour in your dressing, little by little, until it coats the noodles. Cover the mixing bowl and refrigerate for a few hours. You can eat it sooner, but it tastes best when it has had a chance to cool and the flavours have had a chance to combine. 

Once it has been in the fridge for a bit, I would recommend trying some and adding extra soy/vinegar/lime/etc. to taste. Before serving, toast your peanuts and sesame seeds in a small frypan - garnish with this, black pepper and coriander.