Soup’s On (and a salad too)

Who doesn’t love a winter warmer on a cool day, even if it’s technically autumn (“autumn warmer” just doesn’t have the same ring, sorry)? Soup is a year-round favourite of mine, a meal in itself which encourages any amateur cook to improvise with what’s currently in season. And in case you didn’t know, pumpkins are all the rage right now.

Speaking of warmth, a bit of chili is always welcome in that department and Eat.Run.Do Yoga combines that with our beloved pumpkin in this recipe for Thai pumpkin soup. Pumpkin milk and pumpkin and/or squash are complementary, so I can only imagine this being a delicious fall treat! And shallots are in season, to boot!

Add an extra ‘l’ to chili and we’re left with a recipe offered by Method, where Ashley’s provided an easy guideline for pumpkin chilli. So now I face a dilemma: do I make chilli with pumpkin or this Rustic Tomato Pumpkin Bisque first? I’m a real sucker for a good tomato soup… but then again chilli’s an old school favourite. Life is hard.

If soup isn’t your cup of tea (people have insisted on calling stranger things ‘tea’) but you still crave smooth and liquidy goodness, then try this pumpkin pie smoothie on for size. I say that literally because I often chose, being the fashion expert that I am, to share that which is going into my mouth with any clothing I might be wearing at the time.

Oh, pssst, you should always eat salad with soup. Why? Because then you have an excuse to try this scrumptious autumn salad which uses pumpkin seeds and butternut squash. If you don’t have any butternut squash on hand, sub with pumpkin and you’ll be all set to go!

Spooktacular Sugar Coma

These Pumpkiningeradamia cupcakes are not only fun to pronounce (or try to pronounce); they sound good too! At any rate, how could anything involving candied ginger be bad? I’m also quite drawn to this tofu ricotta pumpkin cheesecake, a veganised version of a ricotta based dish. I love the idea of using light miso in a dessert! Q: why didn’t I think of that? A: because someone’s who’s a little more clever beat you to the punch. BOOYAH.

Janet, a 40-year vegetarian turned long term vegan, provides a recipe for delicious looking pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls. Cinnamon and pumpkin marry so well, and who doesn’t love the gooey sweetness that’s a cinnamon bun?

Halloween Treats

Zombie Eyeball Crispies (photo by Janet Hudson)

Zombie Eyeball Crispies. I haven’t had a rice krispy styled treat in many, many years, but as soon as I get my hands on some vegan marshmallows I’m going to have a go!

Rolled Sugar Cookie Eyeballs. Allyson, of Manifest Vegan, never ceases to impress with her high contrast photographs. The thing is, I suspect everything’s just as good as the photos imply, these totally cute cookies included.

Homemade Candy Corn: an old favourite, only veganised!

Pumpkin Pie Infused Vodka. The verdict is still out on this one, but what a concept! I’m excited to hear about how the end result tastes.

I’m an autumn moper. There, I said it. This is the time of year where I have to face the fact that it’s getting too dark too quickly. It’s the time of year where I have to come to terms with the fact that my feet will be frozen for the next six or seven months. But then I suddenly look up and face a mindboggling array of various squash and pumpkin -esque shapes, and remind myself that there are some positives about this time of year, too.

Pumpkin, or “punkin” as my mother so adorably calls it, is a delicious vegetable which is overshadowed by pre-processing and all too often goes to waste. As an American I only ever knew pumpkin to be one of two things: something edible out of a can or something carved for Halloween. How tragic is that? My recollection of pumpkin was either from a factory or a vision of perfectly good food gone to waste (!!!), so I’ve been making an effort over the past couple of years to, you know, actually cook with the real live vegetable. Since it’s food and all.

Recipe Notes

If you’ve never cooked with pumpkin before, this is it. Seriously, this is it. It’s one of the most delicious things I’ve had in a long while, and I’m so happy there were enough left to freeze for one or two more meals.

Don’t listen to anyone who tried to tell you that making your own pumpkin purée is difficult or “not worth it.” Dude, really, all you do is cut the thing into a few wedges and stick it in the oven. You don’t even need to purée it properly for this recipe (a light mashing will do). Anyone who tells you this process is hard is either a canned pumpkin lobbyist or a terrorist, clearly.

I suspect not many people make their own soymilk and tofu, and I’ve never really seen it marketed widely in food retail, so I know okara seems an inconvenient ingredient. If you can’t get ahold of it, don’t worry. I use okara because it’s coming out my ears and because I like the slightly grainy texture (reminiscent of store-bought ricotta), but you should be able to use a crumbled extra firm tofu with no problem.

I used a small amount of vegan mozzarella cheese in this recipe, but if you don’t have that on hand then feel free to use a basic cheddar substitute or simply omit the ingredient altogether. The ravioli will survive and you’ll still enjoy your dinner.

The sauce, if you could call it that, I used was a simple hazelnut and garlic mix in vegan butter and extra virgin olive oil. You could also try lightly frying some whole sage leaves in garlic and oil/non-dairy butter also. I would advise against a sauce which is too heavy with flavour because the flavour of the ravioli is so good on its own. Try not to top it with anything too overpowering.

Chili is just one of those foods which is, you know, well it’s just one of those foods. It’s always there, in the back of my mind, waiting for the weather to change or for leftovers to need using. It’s a meal I don’t exactly crave, yet it needs to be had on a somewhat regular basis during the cooler months. Everyone has their own recipe and no one (save my mother in law) is opposed to a steaming bowl of chili. It’s delicious fresh and only gets better over time.

So it’s my turn to share my own version, my own secret ingredients to make the perfect chili to soothe you on those cold winter nights.

It helps that it’s also ridiculously easy to make.

Recipe Notes

Regarding my use of espresso and chocolate, note that the measurements are vague. You could add up to a tablespoon of espresso and up to the same of cocoa, though I would advise not getting too liberal. Also know that when I say espresso I mean a finely ground dark roast coffee, so anything from a Turkish to espresso grind will be appropriate.

If you’re using fresh tomatoes, something I rarely use in chili because tomatoes aren’t in season during the months in which I enjoy this dish, you could might get away with omitting the sugar.

Chili is a dish which, no matter who’s cooking it, how many times they’ve made it, and how confident a cook they are, should be tasted constantly throughout the cooking process. This opinion stems from more than an excuse to snack before dinner hits the table; a good chili holds a bold and robust flavour and a pinch of chili or a dash more salt can make or break a good turn out. That’s what I think anyway. Experiment until you find your own perfect spice blend!

The last time I visited my family in the U.S. my mother passed along an old German baking manual and I recently got around to taking a look at its inspiring if somewhat dated recipes. A German book printed in the early 1970s at a guess, there’s no such thing as a vegan recipe in its contents. It’s a good thing veganising most (imagine me sighing in memory of macarons) cookies is pretty straightforward!

When I bake cookies, I have all sorts of good intentions. I tell myself things like “just have 2 or 3 a day and they will last” or “maybe if you only make a dozen you’ll be more likely to savour them so they last until the weekend.” Sometimes I even tell myself I should save some for my hard-working husband.

I generally eat all the cookies by myself, quickly. Paul, if he’s lucky, might manage to scavenge a couple.

Recipe Notes

Raise your hand if you’ve already thought, “but wait a minutes! Those aren’t black and white cookies!” What you might traditionally think of as black and white cookies are coated with split black and white fondant frosting, apparently quite a favourite in New York. These cookies, however, resemble a shortbread with a mild cocoa rum twist.

I use a couple of teaspoons of rum in the recipe. Its impact on the overall flavour isn’t huge, but it does add a mellow extra something. If you don’t have any though, I don’t think the world will end if you leave it out.

Get creative with the dough! You’ve got two different colours on your hands, so twist and twirl it to your heart’s content and make some cool designs! The easiest is to make two small balls of dough and press together. Other options include mixing the dough together a bit so you get a swirled effect. You can also roll the dough into thin snakes for spiral effects.

German cookies tend to use far less sugar than American and British counterparts. This of course means they are less sweet, but it doesn’t mean they’re less good! Besides, it means it’s more acceptable that I eat virtually the entire batch by myself.

Right?

Like most other veggie lovers in this dear world, I am capable of consuming hummus at a rate to surpass even your granny’s incessant tirades about kids today.

Okay, I know, I know. As if the four billion alternative preparations out there aren’t enough, this is just what the world needs: another hummus recipe. Variation upon variation of this chickpea paste exists, but this one contains delicious caramelised onion as an added ingredient. Make this by the truckload and share it with everyone you know; even the aforementioned grandma will be impressed.

Recipe Notes

The reason onions caramelise is because they contain some sugar. Perhaps this is a common sense fact, but for most people sugar isn’t what comes to mind when they think of an onion. Try to use onion with a fairly high sugar content, like sweet onions or vidalia, but the standard yellow variety works too. If you’re using a really strong onion, feel free to add a bit of sugar a few minutes into the cooking process in order to aid in caramelisation.

I always use dried chickpeas and soak them overnight, but that’s not to say you can’t cheat and use a can of ‘em. But if you’ve never followed the soaking method I suggest you try it because, in my opinion anyway, it produces a superior taste. It really doesn’t take much extra time (especially if you have a pressure cooker), and it’s also a lot cheaper than buying tins! If you’re using chickpeas from a can then you may not need to add any extra salt to the recipe (depending on whether the beans are in brine), so just be mindful of what’s in the tin.

So there.

It’s all fair and good to check the air miles on your organic roma tomatoes, but the animal industry is probably the worst food-related offender of the environment and the standards we all claim to want upheld. If you’re veggie for the environment, these shirts are for you!

Love the Planet Go Veg Shirts

Love the Planet Go Vegan T-Shirt

Healthy and Kind T-Shirt

Please keep in mind I haven’t personally tried all of these recipes, but they’re on my immediate to-do list (meaning ingredients will be purchase on my next shopping trip).

Singled Out

Ah.Mah.Gahd! Are these cupcakes fer realz?! These cardamom chocolate cupcakes with chocolate dipped pear have totally caught my eye, and I would like them to insert themselves into my belly right this instant. Seriously, lady, you’re my hero. These are gorgeous and they look like an explosion of delicious. If you are ever in South East England, I beg of you to come bake cupcakes for me.

Cardamom Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Dipped Pear (photo by Janet Hudson)

Vegan Pasta Roundup

Who doesn’t love pasta? The whole world’s a fan, or so far as I can tell anyway, and there’s just no need to use dairy when there are hip and hot dishes like these.

• Vegan Manicotti: not too tricky but very impressive. I’ve been craving this since I first saw it, and I can’t wait to get some of that vegan goodness in me tum!
• Broccoli Miso Pasta Sauce: perfect if you’re craving some greens with your carbohydrates.
• Daiya Macaroni Cheese: one of many delicious looking vegan macaroni cheese variations on a theme available on the ol’ interwebs (gah, I am dying to try Daiya cheese. Just dying).

Snacks and Sweets

• Lavender Chocolate Chip Ice Cream: not new, but seriously yumtastic. I’m secretly (as secret as public blog posts go) happy my husband doesn’t like lavender because it means the whole tub (what’s left of it) in the freezer is mine.
• Peach-Strawberry Dessert Soup with Vanilla Tapioca Sauce: does this not look like heaven? My husband also hates tapioca, so I’m sensing another selfish dessert endeavour.
• Maple Glazed Cranberry Walnut Cookie Bars: if the stunning picture is anything to go by then these cookies, once made, aren’t going to last long around here!

Soy Delights!

• Besan Tofu: while not in fact bean curd (and not in fact a new post, but recently brought up again on the ppk forums), who’d have thought of making a mock tofu out of chickpea flour?
• Crispy Tofu with Citrus Soy: also not a new recipe, but new to me, this delicious looking fried tofu can be veganised by omitting the egg (try corn flour and water instead).
• Vegan Okonomiyaki: this sounds so good it almost makes me want to cry.  These are savoury Japanese pancakes generally made with egg, but Ian’s managed to veganise the concept. I’m totally going to combine this with my current obsession with saurkraut.

Inspired by a cute little Japanese snackhouse in Brighton called Pompoko, the idea for these easy veggie treats are completely down to a menu suggestion by Vegan in Brighton.

Maki doesn’t refer to a dish’s content but rather to the method of rolling, hence yubamaki is a yuba roll. Wait, but what’s a yuba!? While you may believe it sounds disctinctly like a Star Wars character, be relieved to know it’s nothing more than soya milk skin. Similar to the skin you find on top of boiled milk, yuba is the soya equivalent; it’s delicately removed from the top of hot soya milk and enjoyed in a variety of different dishes.

So yuba maki. Think spring rolls, only made with soy milk skin.

Recipe Notes

As an experiment, I used two different types of bean curd skin: fresh and dried. Both were delicious, but my suggestion is not to use the frozen variety unless you plan on serving these straight away. Both varieties are best if served immediately after coming out of the the oil, but those using the fresh skin re-heat better in the oven later (they tend remain very crisp without burning). Just for reference, the image at the beginning of the post uses the fresh and the image below uses the frozen variety.

This is less of a recipe than a suggestion. Only you know your favourite vegetables, so go crazy with your favourites. My choice was simple, and I recommend retaining that simplicity, with spring onions, carrots, and ginger as the base flavour. I also added some miso paste for more depth.

Variations: Vegan Pizzas are nothing to frown upon

A lot of people tend to frown upon the concept of a pizza without real cheese, but remember the most important part of a pizza is never the topping. If you have a good crust and a good sauce, you can only move forward.

For a quality pizza make sure you’re using some seriously high quality tomatoes. In fact, a marinara pizza with nothing more than a superb tomato base with some garlic and olive oil is a good place for any pizza fan to start.

Once you realise how amazing a pizza can be with so little on top, you’ll understand why it’s perfectly possible to have a delicious vegan pizza. Cheese is only one of 12,733,028 possible pizza toppings, so really it’s a bit limiting to insist on the same thing over and over. Try something new!

The trick to any pizza, beyond the sauce, is to choose simple toppings. Avoid the heaps and heaps of veggies and instead opt for just two or 3. Try things you’d never consider on pizza. Courgette/zucchini, for instance, is a fantastic pizza topping. How about thinly sliced aubergine/eggplant with a few drops of liquid smoke? Corn and pepper? Why not? You could also try thinking way outside the box and try a mashed potato and sausage pizza.

I like to add vegan cheeses to pizzas, but again that’s not always necessary. If you’ve got that base right, the possibilities are endless, and suddenly the cheese (whether dairy or vegan) becomes a possibility rather than a necessity.

What are your favourite vegan pizza toppings?

Who doesn’t love pizza? Since adopting a more vegan-friendly lifestyle, I’ve been experimenting a lot with pizzas. Fairly straightforward and 100% delicious, the standard tomato based pie is where we all start, but a childhood memory suddenly struck as I prepared to make yet another round of dough.

My best friend from my youth, Lynn, had a mother by whom I always felt incredibly spoiled when it came to food. She didn’t seem to have qualms about prices for meals and would take me to places I otherwise wouldn’t have thought to visit. One such meal was at a local bar/restaurant close to my US home, and that was when I was introduced to the concept of a white pizza. I just had to try to veganise it.

Recipe Notes

I got the idea of a beer based pizza crust from Cute and Delicious, only I used a modified version of a Linda Majzlik recipe instead. The beer adds quite a unique flavour to the dough and I’d highly recommend giving it a try, but feel free to use your own favourite pizza crust.

You’ll notice a slightly rotund crust in the above imagine. That’s because I had a go at a mushroom and cheddar Scheese stuffed crust. This is of course optional, but it’s fun to play around with!

This pizza may be vegan, but it’s seriously rich. I could barely finish 3 slices, and the same goes for my husband. I had to wait at least 7 minutes before eating the entire rest of the pizza.