Ramen with Shiitake Mushrooms and Garlic

22Jul11

Shiitake and garlic go really well together.

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Tags: ramen

Spinach Grilled Cheese Sandwich

03Jul11

Perfect perfect perfect!

Throw spinach into boiling water for 30 seconds, run under cold water and press out excess moisture, throw into a pan with some cheese and mix, put between two slices of bread.

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Tags: sandwich

Plum Blondies

30Jun11

This is one of those recipes that emerge out of leftovers and end up being a huge hit.
I made these on my last day at my old job, and then again the other day, and people love it.
The slight tartness and moisture of the plums go really well with the basic sweetness and slight taste of vanilla of the blondies. Plus, they are super easy to make.

Plum Blondies

• 200g white chocolate
• 130g unsalted butter
• 140g flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 100g brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla flavoured sugar
• ~5 medium size ripe plums

1. Melt chocolate and butter on low heat, set aside to cool
2. Mix eggs, sugar, vanilla and baking powder
3. Mix flour, baking powder and salt
4. Add chocolate mixture to the eggs and sugar, then slowly stir in flour
5. Pour dough onto a baking tray or whatever else you use, cut quarter plums and spread them over the dough so they can sink in a little
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 180°C, then turn off heat and with the oven door closed, leave it sit in there for another half hour

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Guacamole on whole-grain Bread

27Jun11

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Tags: guacamole, vegan

Kukicha with Lemon Grass

23Apr11

I have some lemon grass to use up, so I added it to the Kukicha I was making, and it turned out really great!
I accidently left it sitting for too long while I was busy writing the previous post, but the lemon grass took away all the bitterness of the tea, and with the smokey flavour or the Kukicha it leaves an almost vanilla-like aftertaste. I think I’ll be trying this with other teas as well…

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Tags: kukicha, tea

Cucumber Soup and Chinese Cabbage filled with minced Tofu

23Apr11

I have a huge book about Chinese cuisine that’s been lying around here since forever, and finally decided that it’s time to try one of the recipes.
The filled cabbage was originally made with minced meat, but I totally forgot to buy some at the store because I never buy meat anymore these days, so I passed right by it even though I had written it on my list… The last time I wanted to buy minced meat I couldn’t find it so I just gave up and used tofu instead, and it worked quite well so I decided to do it again.
There also seems to be ready-made minced meat substitute made out of tofu, but I’ve never tried it before.

The soup is a very simple one that mainly contains mushrooms, cucumber and garlic, but it tasted awesome. Garlic and onions can save any meal, seriously.
Even though where I come from(Hungary), there is something called “cucumber soup”, but it is eaten cold so I was a little suspicous about what cucumber would turn out like once heated.
It turned out to be amazing! The cucumber stays firm and crunchy and gives the whole soup a fresh, delicious taste.
The original recipe also had noodles in it, but I only wanted a light side-dish so left them out.

Mushroom and Cucumber Soup (serves 2)

• 6-8 medium sized mushromms, e.g. champignons
• 1/2 cucumber
• 1 clove garlic (minced)
• 1 cup sliced leek
• 2-3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp miso paste

1. Slice mushrooms. Cut cucumber in half and remove its core, then slice as well.
2. Heat some vegetable oil in a pan, sautée leek and garlic for 30sec, add mushrooms and stir for another 2-3 minutes.
3. Add 3 cups of water, bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to medium, after 5 minutes take off heat and add soy sauce, miso paste and cucumbers, let it sit for a few minutes before serving.

Filled Chinese Cabbage (serves 2)

• 250g firm tofu (or minced meat)
• any kinds of vegetables you’d like; I used zucchini and tomatoes
• 2-3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 onion
• 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
• oyster sauce to taste
• sesame oil
• salt, pepper to taste
• Cabbage or salad leaves to fill

1. Heat sesame oil in a frying pan, add sliced onions and sautée for a few minutes.
2. Add tofu to the pan, crumbling it with your fingers.
3. Add soy & oyster sauce, pepper and stirfry until tofu gets slightly crunchy.
4. Add vegetables and stirfry until done.
5. Take off heat and add ginger.
6. Serve pre-rolled or with leaves and filling on separate plates.

Filed under: Dinner, Recipe, Side Dish, Soup, Tofu, Vegetables   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: chinese, Recipe, Soup, Tofu, Vegetables

Strawberries, dried Dates and Figgs

18Apr11

The perfect summer snack.

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Tags: fruit

Avocado on Naan

19Mar11

Lately I love eating avocado on naan bread. I’ve never had naan outside of an Indian restaurant before, but some weeks ago I was searching for something new to try in the supermarket, and found this naan with garlic and cilantro. It’s delicious, so I’ve been buying it quite often lately.
Avocado is also a recent addition to the list of favourite foods. I was searching for vegan bread spreads, and of course avocado was the first thing to come to mind.
I’ve posted this avocado sandwich before, and this is basically the same, sans lemon juice. So good!!
What I like about avocado is that it has a slightly egg-y flavour.
And everyone probably knew this already, but I’ve just recently figured out that cut avocado lasts longer if you store it with the pit!

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Tags: avocado, naan

Vegan Breakfast & Hazelnut Milk

15Mar11

This was today’s breakfast, banana müsli with hazelnut milk.
I didn’t know something awesome as hazelnut milk existed! I’m exploring all the health-food shops in the area, and went into a new one yesterday, and among some very nice chocolate bars, I found those nut-milks.

I was sold instantly. I bet the almond one tastes great, too.
And it only has 55kcal/100ml, which is almost half of what plain soy milk has if I remember correctly.
(I’ve never been the calorie-counting type, but lately I’ve been trying to lose a little weight and somehow it’s starting to be like a fun puzzle to try to sqeeze all the things I love into my planned daily intake, haha…)

Comic Sans will never die.

The only downside is that it supposedly only lasts five days after it’s opened, which is a short time for me to consume 1l of the stuff… but we’ll see.
I’m definitely going back for the almond flavour.

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Tags: hazelnut milk, vegan

Vegan Lentil-Stew with Potatoes and Cucumber-Salad

15Mar11

I was searching around for ways to use up some left over lentils, and this is what I cam up with.
The taste was great, thanks to the cumin it reminded me a lot of falafel.
This would also taste great on naan or other kinds of bread!
The sourness of the vinegar-dressing of the cucumbers went really well with the lentils, too.

Lentil Stew (serves 2)

• 1/2 cup lentils, 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic(minced)
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp curry
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger(grated)
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp corn starch
• vegetable oil

1. Sautée onion rings in a little vegetable oil until they are starting to brown, then add 1 clove of garlic and stir for another minute, add lentils and water and let simmer for about 30 minutes, or until lentils are soft.
2. Add cumin, curry, ginger, salt & pepper, stir well, then add corn starch and bring mixture to a boil until it’s starting to thicken.
3. Take off heat and mix in the remaining garlic.

Filed under: Dinner, Legumes, Recipe, Vegan   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: lentils, Recipe, vegan