Mayonnaise and Chutney Baked Tofu

• Ingredients
  • 400 g firm pressed tofu
  • (30 ml) 2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
  • (15 ml) 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • (15 ml + 10 ml) 1 tbsp + 2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce, divided
  • 130 g (1 cup) chopped onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 80 ml (1/3 cup) mango chutney
  • 80 ml (1/3 cup) vegan mayonnaise

• Directions/Method
  1. Mix 1 tbsp of the oil and 1 tbsp of Worcestershire with the soy sauce in an oven proof dish. Coat the tofu on both sides and bake for 10 minutes at 190 C (375 F). Flip the tofu pieces over and bake for another ten minutes.
  2. Meanwhile heat the other tablespoon of oil over medium heat and fry the onion for about 10-15 minutes until lightly browned. Add garlic and cook one more minute.
  3. Tip the fried onion into a medium bowl and mix with the mayo, chutney, and the remaining 2 teaspoons of worcestershire. Pour the sauce over the tofu and bake for another 30 minutes.

Vegan Yum Som O (Thai Pomelo Salad)

• Ingredients
  • 1 Pomelo (approx 2.5lb or just over a kilogram)
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 tbsp palm sugar (or brown sugar)
  • chopped chili, to taste (optional)
  • 3 tbsp toasted coconut
  • 3 tbsp ground peanut (use a pestle and mortar)
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
  • 1/2 cup (75g) diced shallot, plus oil to fry
  • Chopped mint and coriander (cilantro), to garnish (optional)

• Directions/Method
  1. Cut and open your pomelo, collecting the fruit and any straying juice in a large bowl. Break any large pieces apart into bite sized chunks or strands. Mix the soy sauce, lime juice, sugar and chili and toss with the pomelo.
  2. Heat a wok or pan, with no oil, over medium to medium high heat and toast your coconut until it browns lightly. Tip it into a bowl and place the wok back on the heat to toast the sesame seeds for a similar amount of time until they turn a golden colour. Add to the coconut and leave to cool for a few minutes.
  3. Place the wok back on the head and add a half inch or inch of oil. Fry the shallots for a few minutes, keeping a close eye, until brown and crispy; there’s a fine line between this and burnt and you don’t want to cross it. Strain shallots from the oil and set aside to cool slightly.
  4. Toss the coconut and sesame mix, along with the ground peanut, with the pomelo and dish up. Divide the fried shallot between the two dishes, sprinkling on top. Garnish with chopped mint and coriander, if you please.

Mini Plum Pie Recipe

• Ingredients
  • 1 recipe vegan shortcrust pastry
  • 225g (1 C) plum purée
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 4 tbsp cornflour (corn starch) plus 3 tbsp cold water

• Directions/Method
  1. Preheat the oven to 175 C.
  2. On a slightly floured surface roll the pastry to about 1/8 of an inch thick. Use a two inch round pastry or cookie cutter to cut out rounds and fit these into the 12 cups of a mini muffin tin. Make sure to push into the sides as much as possible. Prick the bottoms 3 or 4 times with a fork and cover with cling film. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, to make plum purée, simply cook plums (you can even include the pits) in a saucepan until soft and runny. Sieve skins and pits out by using a mesh strainer. In a saucepan over medium heat, mix the plum purée, sugar and spices for about 5 minutes, or until sugar is dissolved.
  4. Mix the cornstarch and water in a separate container and while continuously whisking the plum mixture, slowly add the cornstarch liquid. Continue to whisk until quite stiff and set aside to cool for around 15-20 minutes. You can bake the pastry cases during this time.
  5. Cut enough 1×3 inch strips of parchment wax paper for each pie, and place in each pastry case (the length makes it easy to pull them off once they come out of the oven) and fill with enough dried beans or ceramic baking beans to come to the top of the case. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
  6. Remove the paper and beans and bake again for a further 10 minutes, or until the pastry is just beginning to brown lightly around the edges. This blind baking step is important, so as much a pain as it seems it’s really not that bad. Set aside on a cooling rack for half an hour.
  7. Pipe or spoon into pastry cases and sprinkle with icing sugar just before serving if desired (it looks pretty).

Chocolate and Raspberry Smoothie

• Ingredients
  • 1/2-1 cup frozen raspberries
  • 1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 juice (apple or grape are good choices)
  • 1 1/2 tsp plain vegan baking chocolate
  • 1 tbsp agave nectar or maple syrup

• Directions/Method
  1. Follow closely: chuck all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth (like a smoothie, you know).
  2. Add more agave for a sweeter taste, more lemon for a tangy taste.
  3. Slurp loudly.

Vegan Cranberry-Oatmeal Cookies

• Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup (70g) cake flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp ground flax seeds plus 2 tbsp water
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • 2 TBSP vegan margarine
  • 2 TBSP brown sugar
  • 2 TBSP maple syrup
  • small handful dried cranberries
  • small handful nuts and/or chocolate chips (optional)
  • 1/3 cup (30g) dried oatmeal

• Directions/Method
  1. Preheat the oven to 175 C (350 F) and lightly grease a baking sheet.
  2. Whisk the water and ground flax to a gelatinous consistency (flax egg). A nut/coffee mill works well for this.
  3. Whip the margarine and brown sugar until creamy and mostly blended. Add the maple syrup plus the flax egg and mix again.
  4. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into the above mix, along with the cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix until just combined.
  5. Fold in the cranberries and oatmeal (plus chocolate chips or nuts, if using).
  6. Drop heaped tablespoons of dough onto a greased baking sheet, at least an inch apart. Flatten slightly and bake for about 12 minutes (a little less for a fan/convection oven). Remove and cool on a wire rack. The cookies may seem very soft still when you remove them from the oven, but once cooled the consistency will toughen up a bit.

• Ingredients:
  • 2 custard apples, de-seeded and pureed
  • 1/2 c milk
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1/4 c sugar
  • 1 tbsp vanilla essence
  • 150ml double cream
  • 100ml vegetarian vodka

1. Whisk the egg yolks and the sugar together in a bowl.
2. Heat the milk just to a simmer on the hob (read: don’t let it burn). When the milk is hot, make a custard base by adding the egg yolk + sugar mixture and stirring constantly until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and let cool.
3. When cooled, add the double cream, vanilla, custard apple, and vodka. Process as directed by your ice cream maker instructions or freeze and stir once every half an hour until frozen.

• Ingredients:
  • half a round of camembert
  • 1 egg
  • hazelnuts, ground (but not finely)
  • about 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • sugar, to taste
  • about 1/8 cup raspberries
  • salad greens of some form

1. First make the dressing. Simply boil the raspberries and balsamic vinegar together, adding half a teaspoon or so of sugar (or to taste). I like my dressings to have a little bit of a kick, so I usually don’t add more than this. Simmer for a few minutes and, only if you’re picky about it, strain the seeds from the dressing. Personally I leave the seeds in. Whatever you do, pop the finished product in the fridge while you get down and dirty with the rest of the recipe.
2. Turn your grill on to a high setting. Halve the half-round of camembert (that’s right folks, now it’s in quarters!) and dip each piece in the egg before flinging into the crushed hazelnuts for coating. I say “fling” because I do in fact operate in such a manner when in my own kitchen. Make sure you coat the cheeses good and coated-like and then put them on a tray (the sort that can go in an oven or, more to the point, under a grill).
3. If you hadn’t worked it out by now, you need to place this tray under the aforementioned grill. Leave it under the heat for a few minutes, until the hazelnuts start to brown.
4. Remove and place immediately on a bed of salad greens and drizzle with that glorious raspberry vinaigrette you made a few minutes earlier (or if you were clever, maybe you made it a day ahead of time).