Vegan white chocolate macadamia cookies

The main reason I went vegan was because I wanted to start living a healthier lifestyle. I really enjoy being vegan and I don't see myself going back anytime soon. 

There have been many things that I've given up since going vegan such as ice cream, chocolate and a lot of my favourite types of store bought cakes and biscuits but I'm quite happy to do this because it means that I'm also cutting out a lot of junk out of my diet too. 

One of the unhealthy things that I don't eat any more are white chocolate macadamia cookies. I remember them tasting delicious, but I like being vegan far more than the taste of those cookies. 

I've been vegan for nearly two years now and in that time I've come to realise that there is usually a way to make vegan versions of most foods. 

Now don't fall into the trap of thinking that just because there's a vegan version of something that it is automatically healthy. Sure, it may be healthier, but it may not necessarily be healthy. And it certainly doens't mean you can eat ten servings of it.

I recently discovered vegan white chocolate. The brand is called Sweet William and they do dairy free chocolates. The white chocolate actually tastes pretty spot on to what I remember normal white chocolate tastes like. 

Even though I try to eat clean, I have the biggest sweet tooth and so when I was flipping through my Veganomicon cookbook and came across a recipe that I could change in order to make vegan white chocolate macadamia cookies, I just couldn't resist. I have googled some other recipes for these cookies but they all include a lot of vegan margarine and I didn't have any at home. Plus I don't really like using it unless there is absolutely no other substitute.

These cookies turned out pretty delicious. Even my mum (who usually doesn't eat anything that is unhealthy, let alone my vegan baking) enjoyed these :)

Suitable for vegans

So this is my variation of the Veganomicon recipe for white chocolate macadamia cookies. This recipe was originally for chocolate-chocolate chip-walnut cookies.

Vegan White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies

Makes about 24

Ingredients 

2 1/4 cups white spelt flour (you can use plain flour)
2/3 cup oat flour (I just processed rolled oats)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 canola oil (or 1/2 cup should be ok too)
1 1/2 cup Stevia (or any baking sugar substitute)
4 teaspoons ground flaxseed
1/2 cup soy milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
3/4 vegan white chocolate bits
3/4 halved unsalted macadamia nuts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Line three baking trays with baking paper.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the oat flour. 
In a separate large bowl, mix together the oil and sugar. Add the flaxseeds, soy milk, vanilla and almond extract, and mix well.
Fold in the dry ingredients in batches. When the batter starts to get too hard to mix with a fork then use your hands.
Add the chocolate and nuts. 
Roll dough into 1-inch balls (or whatever size you like. Each ball of dough was about 1 table spoon for me) and flatten into disks (I prefer these cookies to be quite thin so I flattened them out as much as possible).
Bake for 10-15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer onto cooling rack to cool completely.  

Liquorice Gourmet Foods

When I went to Melbourne the other week, I asked my sister what she wanted me to bring back for her. All she asked for was for me to get some raspberry twists from a candy stand called The Sugar Station. They are set up around Melbourne in various shopping centre complexes; but they are only located in the eastern states. 

I managed to find a Sugar Station and cleaned out pretty much the whole tray of raspberry twists. Unfortunately, when I was packing my suitcase to go home I had mistaken the plastic bag of raspberry twists for an empty rubbish bag. I was absolutley devetsted because my sister always brings home gifts for me and this was my chance to get her something she really wanted.

Ever since coming home, I've been on the search for the exact same raspberry twists. 

Today I came across an amazing store called Liquorice Gourmet Foods. I don't really know how to classify it because it has walls and isles full of lollies, spices and teas for you to scoop into a bag and pay by weight. 

I have never seen any shop quite like this one. Best of all, they sold the raspberry twists!

I didn't get much time to spend in the shop, but I know I'll go back for sure and take photos for you guys to see it. They also have a giant wall of loose leaf tea. I think I'll make it a mission to try each type of tea. I didn't even though there were so many different kinds. My mind was totally blown. 

There are Liquorice stores are located around Perth in Claremont, Joondalup and Duncraig. If you have a sweet tooth I definitely recommend that you go. Or if you're like me and have a thing for tea, then go check out the enourmous range they have. 

Photo from here.

Whenever I walk into a candy store, I automatically think of this scene from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory :) I watched this a lot while I was growing up.

Alpaca fair

I went to an alpaca fair today!

Yes, I thought I might just jump straight into telling you my something new. It's definitely not something you hear everyday. In fact, when my friend told me about it I was so excited because I didn't know things like alpaca fairs even existed. 

The alpaca fair was held at Whiteman Park. I told my sister about it and because she's just like me and loves anything fluffy, we decided to make a sister date out of it. My lovely friends Ruth, Nhi and Adam met up with us. They are my people to go to when I want to try something new because they are always so happy to join in :) I would not be having as much fun doing this blog without them :)

I think I acted like a total kid when we went around to all the alpaca pens. They were just so cute and fluffy looking. I love the ones with long fringes that cover their eyes. Adorable!!

Ok, so enough with the words, just look at the photos I took :P

Mung bean and quinoa crepes

As you may have read in previous posts, I have not yet come across a vegetable that I have not liked. I've been reading a lot of recipes lately which use the root vegetable swede. I decided to buy some on my last trip to the grocers. 

I decided to use the swede in a recipe I found for mung bean and quinoa crepes. My crepes didn't turn out looking as lovely as the one in the picture from the website, but it still tasted very good. I'm fairly sure this is traditional Indian dish because the spices used are very similar to what you'd find in a lot of Indian recipes. 

The only change I made to the recipe was that I used roasted carrot, pumpkin and swede instead of potato. 

What I loved most about these crepes where that they were very crisp. I've never thought to use mung beans and quinoa to make a crepe batter, but whoever invented that was a genius. It was harder to flip than normal crepes made with flour, but I'm hoping to perfect my technique one day. 

Flipside Burger Bar

There are some meals that can easily be made vegan. One of those is burgers. From memory, I have never been to a burger joint which hasn't had a vegetarian option that could be made vegan friendly upon request. 

Today my friend and I tried out a burger place called Flipside Burger Bar. I did a search for vegan friendly restaurants on Urbanspoon and Flipside was one of the search results. It worked out pretty well because this place is near uni and so we went here for dinner and a catch up.

We got there around 6pm and it seemed pretty quiet. It was a simple restaurant with just one long table with some stools around it for people to dine in. After we had sat down, we watched as the place began to fill up with customers...and very quickly at that. About 90% of the customers ordered takeaway burgers. It's a good thing too because there would not have been enough space on that one table for everyone to eat at.

I ordered The Kenny Burger which had a chickpea and sweet potato patty with red peppers and rocket leaves. There was also Sriracha sauce with all the condiments so I put this in my burger to add a bit of bite. Tasty!!

Balsamic roasted vegetables

I really enjoy cooking during winter time. I love eating a big bowl of something hot, whether it be a casserole, soup or curry. It's these types of hot and hearty winter comfort foods that I just don't cook during the hotter months.

One of my favourite all-year-round dishes is roast vegetables. When I was in Melbourne I had a great balsamic roast vegetable side dish from the restaurant Gasolina, and ever since then I've just been craving roast veggies.

Whenever I roast up veggies, I usually just use olive oil and pepper (sometimes a bit of paprika and cumin too), but I decided to try my hand at balsamic roast veggies because when the vegetables caramelise in the oven, the tangy balsamic vinegar becomes sweeter and it just tastes delicious.

I found a good recipe from the website Bon Appetit. The recipe calls for the dressing to be made a day in advance but I didn't have the time so I just used it straight away. This recipe was very good, so I can only imagine how much better it would taste if I left the flavours to develop over night. 

I served this dish up with tomato couscous with capers which I made a few weeks ago, as well and some vegan sausages. 

This dish was certainly a hit with my dad and brother and it's perfect for stormy nights like tonight. 

I haven't made too many soup recipes, so I'm looking forward to trying out some new recipes and sharing them with out over the winter. 

Also, I just wanted to say thanks for reading. I've really come to appreciate how supportive my friends have been of this blog. Sometimes I find that I have to self motivate myself to think of something new, but there is no greater feeling than when someone else is right there with me :)

Balsamic Roasted Vegetables

Serves 4

Ingredients

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil  

4 garlic cloves, pressed
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh basil
2 large red onions, cut into wedges
1/2 medium sized pumpkin, cut into chunks

1 large zucchini, cut into 1.5cm thick rounds

2 large carrorts, cut into  1.5cm thick rounds

1 large beetroot, cut into wedges
Coarse kosher salt

**Note: you can cut the vegetables to any desired size or thickness. If you cut them into chunky pieces, just increase the cooking time until they are tender...or if you're like me, just cook them until they are very brown around the edges.

Preparation

Whisk vinegar and mustard in medium bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Stir in garlic, thyme, and basil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD Dressing can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. (Or you can just use straight away if you don't have time)

Preheat oven to 220°C. Toss vegetables in large bowl; sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Add dressing; toss to coat. Divide between 2 large rimmed baking sheets. Roast until vegetables are tender and slightly brown around edges, about 35 minutes. (I cooked mine for nearly an hour because I like them very well browned)

Claudio's Pizza, Alexander Heights

When I was in Melbourne, we ate dinner one night at an Italian restaurant/cafe called Cervo near the Crown Casino. That night I ordered a vegan pizza with zucchini, mushroom and rocket leaves. 

My friends and I got onto the topic of whether there were many places in Perth with vegan pizzas on the menu. I told them that I have been able to order a few vegan pizzas. My friend asked me where I had eaten the best pizza. It occurred to me then that I have had so many vegan pizzas (including some that were homemade) that I couldn't remember where I had eaten them. All I know is that if it's got a lot of topping, a crispy base and a relatively thick crust then I am one happy camper.

My good friend Su-Lyn and I spontaneously decided to catch up tonight. She was very supportive of my quest for finding something new that she was willing to try out a vegan friendly pizza place I had found while searching on Urbanspoon. The place is called Claudio's Pizza. It's tucked away in a little part of Alexander Heights that I did not know even existed. Aaah, the joys of finding something new.

I really enjoyed the pizza here. I ordered the "Vegie Pizza" which had mushroom, artichoke (I love artichoke on pizzas!!),oven roasted capsicum, spinach and olives. I asked for chilli to be added as well. The chilli was definitely what separated this pizza from the rest of the pizzas I've ever had. It added that extra bite and flavour. This pizza is easily one of the best I've eaten :)

The restaurant was a cosy little place with a nice big woodfired oven. You kinda already know it's going to be a great pizza if it's cooked in a woodfired oven. The service was great and the prices were pretty good for the large pizzas that you get. Su-Lyn and I were only able to finish half. 

They also do an awesomely heavenly sounding Nutella dessert pizza. I don't know if it's just me of if it's fast becoming a trend to display the huge jars of Nutella, but there was also a restaurant in Melbourne called Gasolina which displayed them too.

You can dine in or order and pick up. If you live around the area and you feel like trying a new pizza place, give Claudio's a try :)