Vegan sloppy joes

The end of my blog is coming up fast. It's quite crazy how quickly this year has gone by. So many memories just sloshing around in my brain. Every time I grab one of those memories and look back over it, it's always a good one. Of course my year was filled with lower moments, but I'm going to choose to let those go and just hang onto the good memories, and the lessons that I've learnt from any struggle I've faced this year. This little reflection doesn't have anything to do with the vegan sloppy joes that I made today, but I thought I might share it anyways. 

So if you've been following my blog and Instagram, I'm sure you'll know how much I love burgers, and good ol' American food. Hence, I thought it would be fitting if I try and re-create the classic sloppy joe - vegan style. As a kid, I would always watch movies and TV shows where school kids eat sloppy joes in the cafeteria, but to be honest, I never really knew what they were until my later years of high school. Mince meat goodness in a bun. That's basically what it is. Don't get me wrong though, I think that sounds delicious!

I decided to make a vegan sloppy joe today because, number one: I've never made one, and number two: I've just found out that my local Weigh 'N' Pay store sells Textured Vegetarian Protein (TVP). TVP can come in different shapes, but the one that's available near me looks like dried mince meat. You just add moisture (i.e. water, stock etc) and it becomes like mince. It's actually pretty tasty, and has good texture too. It's super easy to cook, and I think this will be a winner for any future recipe I cook up which requires mock mince. Yay, I'm so happy I've found another vegan product! Happy days :)

Vegan sloppy joes, topped with coleslaw and a side of corn and snow peas.

Vegan sloppy joes
(Adapted from Hell Yeah It's Vegan)

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1/2 c mushrooms, finely diced
• 2 tsp chili powder
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp dry mustard
• 1¼ c TVP
• 1 c water
• 1x 400g can crushed tomato
• ¾ c ketchup
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• soft sandwich buns

 Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, saute pepper and onion in oil until onion is translucent.
2. Stir in chili powder, garlic and mustard.
3. Add TVP, water, crushed tomatoes ketchup, and soy sauce; stir well.
4. Cover and bring mixture to a boil.
5. Reduce heat, simmering for ~10 minutes covered.
6. Remove lid and simmer for ~20 minutes more, stirring frequently until most of liquid has evaporated.
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
8. Serve hot on toasted sandwich buns, with onion slices and nutritional yeast if desired. I added some vegan coleslaw onto mine.

Thai Corner Restaurant, Applecross

The last time I was dining along Canning highway, my friend and I went to the vegan restaurant Heavenly Plate Cafe. As we walked into the cafe, we noticed a nice Thai place right next door and we said that we'll have to try it out one day. A couple months on, we made reservations for Thai Corner Restaurant, next door to Heavenly Plate. I love crossing stuff off my list of things to do :)

The restaurant was lovely inside and seemed fairly busy throughout the night. They have received a lot of awards over the years and have them all framed and put on display in a large wine cabinet near the entrance. Good move guys, way to impress us :)

Service was lovely and I really enjoyed the food. They were happy to make their vegetarian dishes vegan friendly by omitting any fish sauce for me. The prices are a bit steep for the serving size, but I was surprisingly so full by the end of dinner that we had to get the rest to take home in containers. So I guess there was value for money in that way :)

I particularly enjoyed dessert. We had durian with sticky rice, coconut milk and sesame seeds. The both of us hadn't had durian in a while so it was an easy dessert choice to make because I think we had some durian cravings. It was served warm and was a perfect sweet treat to finish off our dinner. Normally durian and coconut are quite strong flavours, but this dessert was made so well that one didn't overpower the other, and I could still appreciate the flavour of the sticky rice too. Really top stuff. I love being a dessert person :)

Curry puffs

Ginger tofu

Mild green curry

Durian, sticky rice, coconut milk and sesame seeds

Marinated tofu and Israeli couscous

I have had a bag of Israeli couscous sitting in my pantry for a while now, and I finally got around to using it in a recipe today. I found a recipe for marinated tofu and Israeli couscous from the site Liesl Made which I really wanted to try. Normally when I think of Israeli couscous I think of a salad with parsley, raisins and nuts, but I thought I might try something different and try out this recipe.

I wasn't really in the mood for cooking tonight, but I just plowed through my feeling of laziness and just did it anyways. I'm glad I did it. This recipe was delicious and it's much better than just settling with the easy option of eating toast for dinner. 

Marinated Tofu and Israeli Couscous (from Liesl Made)

Time: few hours to press tofu, 8 hours to marinate (ideally, but a few hours will do if in a pinch) then a half an hour to an hour to prep and cook

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb extra firm tofu
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 cup low-sodium/light soy sauce (We generally only use low-sodium soy sauce. If you only have regular soy sauce you could probably substitute some of it with a rice wine vinegar.)
• veggies/stir fry foods of choice (I used broccoli, mushroom, carrot and parsnip.)
• 1 cup Israeli Pearled Couscous (also called Israeli Couscous or Pearled Couscous)
• 2 cups water (You can stretch the dish out more by doing 1 1/2 cups couscous and 3 cups water and get a few more servings without losing too much flavor.)

Notable Tools + Stuff

• basic kitchen utensils
• seal-able container or plastic bag for marinating
• frying pan (and fitting lid)
• serving bowl + extra bowl to hold hold tofu temporarily

Directions
Press Tofu (a few hours before marinating or at least six hours before serving time):

1. The first thing you want to do is press tofu to remove the excess water. What I do is wrap my block in a towel and set on the counter, place a small cutting board on top and then something heavy like a dictionary or soup can to weigh it down. I let it press for quite a while, I do a few hours. Sometimes, if I remember, I’ll change the towel halfway through because it can get pretty saturated.

Marinate (8 hours or at least a few hours before serving):

1. Cut your tofu into cubes.
2. Put in a seal-able container or bag.
3. Sprinkle the agave, ground ginger and granulated garlic over top then pour on the soy sauce.
4. Shake it up so everything gets coated.
5. Store in fridge for at least a few hours but ideally overnight/eight hours. Shake the container every once in a while to make sure the soy sauce is soaking nicely into and around all the tofu cubes.

Cook the Couscous:

1. Bring two cups of water to a boil over high heat. A pinch of salt is optional. (Whenever I cook couscous I add salt or sometimes even left-over veggie broth but with this recipe you want to be cautious of the salt content.)
2. Add the couscous and drop the temperature to low. With the lid on, simmer for 10 to 12 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed and couscous is tender. Then I turn off burner, give the couscous a toss with a spoon and let sit for a little while longer without the lid  to finish absorbing the rest of the liquid.

Cooking Tofu and Veggies:

1. While the couscous is simmering I like to prep all the various veggies I want—chop up the onions, mushrooms, carrot etc. You may want to steam things like broccoli to desired texture because you will only be sauteing it (I just cut up the veggies so that they were small enough to cook through by just sauteing them)
2. Get out a frying pan (cast iron is my favorite) and a lid that fits over it, a medium sauce pan and your serving bowl and a bowl big enough to temporarily hold your tofu. You will cook the tofu first then set aside so you can either use a temporary bowl big enough to hold it or just dump it into your serving bowl.
3. On medium heat, sauté just the tofu cubes in oil, reserving the excess marinade for later. One of the tricks I’ve learned to get really great tofu is to cook it over medium heat for a longer time, instead of high and quick. Keep them on the burner until at least two sides of the cubes are nicely browned.
4. Transfer tofu to your bowl temporarily.
5. Now you’ll cook up you veggies, also on medium heat. I cook until my onions are just before the texture I like them at. This is where the lid comes in handy, it can help trap the moisture in and cook them quicker.
6. Then you pour the extra marinade into the frying pan.
7. Add your tofu back to the pan and continue to cook until most of the marinade is absorbed, stirring everything occasionally to get everything browning nicely.
8. Toss the veggies, tofu and couscous in your bowl and serve. 

George's Meze, Subiaco

My good friend Ruth had her birthday dinner at a lovely restaurant called George's Meze in Subiaco tonight. The venue used to be a residential home, but was transformed into a restaurant. No matter where you sat, be it indoor or outdoor, there was definitely a nice cosy homely atmosphere. There isn't much space in between tables, so it may seem quite packed, but the layout still works well. 

There was some live entertainment from a young boy and a man that I assume to be his grandpa or older relative. The boy was playing a traditional Greek instrument and traditional Greek songs which was a nice touch and added a very real Greek vibe to the restaurant. I didn't get any photos of the interior of the restaurant, but the bar was lovely. 

I was initially worried that I wouldn't be able to find anything vegan on the menu, but after having a nice conversation with the waiter, he managed to ask the chef to whip me up something vegan. The chef kindly obliged and put together a great platter especially for me. I was so impressed! George's Meze is definitely vegan friendly!

The food here was great and the service was good too. I think my favourite dish of the day was the onion rings. I've been craving onion rings for a long time now, but these amazing circular goodies went above and beyond what I remember about onion rings. They were coated with an amazing crumbed spice combination. I can't even think of what spices could have been used, but oh man, tasty tasty tasty. They could just open up their own little onion ring shop and they'd still rake in the money. 

All in all, this place is worth trying out if you're in the mood for a good Mediterranean dining experience. Opa!

Saganaki – lightly grilled Greek kefalograviera cheese, served with pickled figs,

cinnamon, attiki honey and lemon.

Onion rings!

Combination of breads and Greek dips with feta, and olives, skordallia, tzatziki, taramasalata, hommus and melitzano salata.

Paithakia

- Hay Valley lamb rack served with rosemary potatoes, grilled Mediterranean vegetables

and mint Greek yogurt dressed with juices of the pan and red wine jus.

Kotopoulo

– chicken breast stuffed with semi dried tomatoes, baby spinach, feta and

black olives, served on green beans and chat potatoes.

Outback jacks

My friends and I originally planned to go dine at Jamie's Italian tonight, but the next table available for our party of six would have to be an hour and a half wait. We decided to head over to Outback Jacks in Northbridge instead. Yes, that's quite a different dining experience to Jamies. 

 

I just had a look at the reviews on Urbanspoon for Outback Jacks in Northbridge and saw a majority of dislikes for the restaurant. This was quite surprising for me because we had lovely service and we all really enjoyed our meals. You'd think that a steak house wouldn't have a vegan option, but luckily for me there were nachos on the menu which I was able to order without the sour cream and cheese. The nachos were actually really good. There were beans, tomato salsa and avocado on a huge pile of corn chips. So plenty to fill up on. There were salads available but all of them had meat so I had to forego any of these options. None the less, I was really happy with my meal. 

Huge pepper dispenser!

Their range of steak cuts and sausages.

Although I loved the huge crocodile hanging from the roof, and the large didgeridoo thingy that was actually a pepper shaker, the highlight of the night was the good service from our waiter. When dessert time came, the waiter asked what topping my four year old Goddaughter Cathy wanted on her ice cream. He listed the options: chocolate, strawberry, banana or spearmint. Cathy's mum repeated the options to her and instead of picking one of the toppings she said "Rainbow!". So cute! Anyways, the waiter then said that he would try and use all the flavours to make a rainbow topping. He actually did an impressive job! That's great service in my books! 

Rainbow!

The restaurant also has a cool kid's room. There was a TV, four gaming consoles, toys and colouring in to do. Hours of fun for the kids. Cathy didn't want to leave. Mind you, I found a Marvel game on one of the PlayStation's, and if I could, I would have stayed longer to play too. 

I was pretty happy with our dining experience. The service was good, the food was nice and we didn't have to wait very long for them to come out. Even though there aren't too many good reviews on Urbanspoon, I'm glad that we had one of the better experiences :)

Eggplant and lentil pasta with almond Parmesan

With the new year approaching and the start of my med degree creeping up closely behind it, I have been reflecting over what it was like to have a hectic uni schedule. The most crazy year for me was the final year of my undergrad degree. All-nighters were the norm and I barely had time to wash my hair or cook a decent meal. I am fairly certain that I won't have as much time next year to bake lovely desserts and I know that I definitely won't have time to plate up nicely and take pretty photos of the food. Therefore, I started thinking of quick and easy vegan meals, and tonight I decided to test run a new one. 

I found a recipe for eggplant and lentil pasta with almond Parmesan from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen. It's a relatively easy recipe to make and it's full of everything you'll need to fuel you through a study session. 

I decided to ditch the canned ingredients (although, don't get me wrong, canned is totally fine!) and go for the fresh option. Instead of the canned lentils (because I didn't have any), I boiled up some urad lentils (because they were the only ones I had) and instead of the canned tomatoes, I used tomatoes which I blended up in the food processor. 

I also used wholemeal penne instead of normal white pasta because it has a bit more fibre. You can really taste the difference! The wholemeal pasta tastes more course and grainy, but it definitely leaves you feeling fuller for longer. 

I hope that I'll still get time to do some fancy schmancy cooking after I start med next year. It's one of those hobbies/skills that I've really grown to love and it's just become easier over time with practice. 

Skillet Eggplant and Lentils with Almond Parmesan (from The FatFree Vegan Kitchen)

Preparation time: 10 minute(s) | Cooking time: 25 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 4

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large eggplant (about 18 ounces) cut into quarters lengthwise and sliced into 1/4-inch wedges
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1 15-ounce can lentils, rinsed (or 1 1/2 cups cooked lentils)
• ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon hot smoked paprika or cayenne pepper, optional
• 1 cup tomato puree or crushed tomatoes
• 1/3 cup unsweetened non-dairy yogurt (if yogurt isn’t available, try 1/4 cup unsweetened soymilk mixed with 1 tsp. lemon juice)
• 1 cup fresh basil, minced
• “Almond Parmesan,” see below

Directions

1. Saute the onion in a large, non-stick skillet until it begins to brown. Tip: Add a small pinch of baking soda to speed up browning. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
2. Add the eggplant, water, and herbs and stir well to coat the eggplant with the seasonings. Cover tightly and cook until the eggplant begins to soften, about 6 minutes, stirring frequently. Add all remaining ingredients EXCEPT the fresh basil and Almond Parmesan. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes, until eggplant is tender and sauce has thickened. Season to taste with salt, add fresh basil, and serve over pasta or brown rice or other whole grain. Top with Almond Parmesan, if desired.
3. To make Almond Parmesan, process 1/4 cup nutritional yeast and 1/3 cup whole raw almonds in a blender or food processor until crumbly. Store in refrigerator.

Ninniku Jip, Victoria Park

I went out to a great place called Ninniku Jip on Albany Highway with my friends Nhi and Jenni. It's a Korean and Japanese restaurant which does some Asian and Western fusion dishes like their kimchi spaghetti. Kimchi and spaghetti? My friend Jenni was daring enough to order it and apparently it's actually quite tasty so if you're a big spag bol fan, then why not give it a try :)

As we were driving along looking for the place, we ended up getting a parking spot right in front of the restaurant...love it when that happens! and what was even better is that parking is free on a Sunday night too. Winning!

The place was very spacious and there was even a whole room with children's play equipment. I'm talking a slide and everything! Like at McDonald's but probably a third of the size. They take words kid-friendly to a whole new extreme. 

The service was great and the food was very enjoyable too. There were lots of vegan friendly dishes on the menu and they were happy to exclude any fish or oyster sauce. My favourites for the night were the kimchi pancake and the vegie japchae. The pancake batter was only flour and water which is good because normally there is egg and/or milk in pancake batter. 

I like the names of the levels of spice

Tofu salad

Kimchi pancake

Vegie japchae. The noodles were made from sweet potato. This dish was super good.

Tofu Ishiyaki Bibimbap

For dessert I ordered a cute serving of orange sorbet which was served in an orange skin. Top marks for presentation. I thought it was quite unique indeed. The sorbet was very refreshing too. Perfect for warm spring night. 

Azuki beans with green tea ice cream