The proof is in the pictures

There’s nothing like a great whopping pile of vegan stodge. Exhibit A:

Simmer potatoes in water and salt until very tender. Add Nuttelex or Earth Balance or similiar. Pinch of nutmeg. A clove or three of crushed garlic, some mixed dry herbs of your choice, a heaping of nutritional yeast, and mash like you’ve never mashed before. Mash the fork out of those potatoes. You can do it. I believe in you. Then top them with strips of pan-fried marinated tempeh (organic BBQ sauce or Braggs/tamari & garlic is good), drown it all in gravy (homemade miso gravy rocks: mushrooms, low-sodium vegetable stock, miso paste, rosemary, thyme, nutritional yeast & tapioca starch to thicken), and sprinkle with shredded fresh basil. Sprinkle liberally. Do everything liberally. Except in Australia, where you want to do it Laborly or – even better – Greenly. A-hoy-hoy.

Raw pancakes? It’s entirely possible and entirely tasty fresh! Check this action out. Exhibit B:

These are great in the Australian summer – no-cooking-necessary! Mini flax pancakes (flaxmeal, coconut oil, agave, salt and water, rolled into balls then flattened into pancake shapes) topped with carob pudding (food processed carob, avocado, banana, and dates), all topped with grapes, shredded coconut, sliced banana, and chopped macadamia nuts, with a little agave nectar drizzled over & around it all.

The proof is in the tasting, actually. These pictures are a poor substitute, I’m afraid, so you’ll just have to get into the kitchen and cook up some vegan food pr0n yourself. There’s a good lad and/or lass.

Indonesian Tofu Rendang

This rendang has been approved by a friend who grew up in Indonesia, and was created by my partner who has travelled there. It’s fantastic.

Ingredients
400mL can coconut cream
400mL can coconut milk
5 garlic cloves, crushed
2 large onions, finely diced
1 teaspoon laos powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 inch piece ginger, grated
4 tablespoons of vegetarian hot red curry paste*
curry leaves (fresh, instead of dry, if possible!)
4 tablespoons tamarind (or lemon juice if tamarind is unavailable)
500g fried tofu
wheat-free light soy sauce, to taste
fresh coriander to taste, chopped
fresh hot chillis, chopped (optional)
rice, to serve

Method
Reduce 1/2 of a can of coconut cream in a wok until it starts to become oily.
Add crushed cloves of garlic and fry them for a few seconds.
Add onions and fry everything until the onions are cooked.
Add laos powder, coriander, cumin, and turmeric. Stir briefly.
Add fresh grated ginger, curry paste, curry leaves.
Stir the lot until it becomes aromatic.
Add tamarind to taste.
Add the rest of the coconut cream and the can of coconut milk.
Add fried tofu.
Add wheat-free light soy sauce to taste.
Reduce until it is very thick. For best results, reduce over low heat for a few hours+.
Serve with rice. Top with fresh coriander and extra chillis (optional… you wuss).

Notes:
I tend to do alot of things to taste, so the quantities can vary a little. Taste test as you go!
You can also add vegetable stock before you reduce the mix, if you want that flavour soaked into the tofu (just remember to be light with the soy sauce if you do).
If you can’t get wheat-free light soy sauce, use Braggs or wheat-free tamari – but very sparingly! These are dark soy sauce rather than light.

*Curry Paste:
Any vegetarian Thai-style curry paste will do. The hotter the better – rendang should be wonderfully burning. Using vegetarian red curry paste is an alternative to spending time pounding lemon grass into paste. Just don’t use one containing prawn/shrimp paste, because (a) it has a different flavour, (b) it’s not vegetarian or vegan, (c) yuck!, and (d) I’m allergic to crustacea.

To make your own curry paste for this recipe, mix together:
5 stalks of lemon grass, chopped finely, then ground to paste.
5 large hot chillis ground to paste (with seeds).

Faux Pho! (aka Vegan Vietnamese Pho Soup)

In Vietnam, people eat pho for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Personally I like to have it for breakfast on Sunday mornings! This is a version that best imitates the veg pho that I had when I was travelling in Vietnam with my partner – it is his recipe. Quantities may be a little rough, so taste-test as you go (as you always should!). Enjoy!

Serves around 4-6, depending on bowl-size/course…

Ingredients
2-4 finely diced chilli peppers (eg. birdseye)
1.5in piece of ginger, thinly sliced
1 sweet onion, chopped or diced
3 Litres of Massel’s Vegetarian Beef-style Stock*
1 cinnamon stick
5 star anise pods
1 finely diced garlic clove
lime, juiced
palm sugar to taste
fresh pepper to taste
bean sprouts, handful or two
rice vermicelli, cooked
1 bunch of coriander leaves, chopped
2 shallots, finely sliced
extra finely diced chilli pepper, optional

How To
+ In a stock pot fry the chilli, ginger and onion, with a little oil, till it is seared and a little crusty, but not burned. Add stock.
+ Crush then add the cinnamon and star anise. Add the garlic.
+ Simmer for 30min. Take off heat. Add lime juice, and a little bit of palm sugar until it is only slightly sour. Cover till served.
+ Get out some soup bowls. Add beansprouts, then hot vermicelli, shallots and coriander, and optionally fresh sliced chilli into each bowl. Pour the hot soup over the veg-noodle mix.
+ Serve. OMNOMNOM.

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*This is a dark vegetable stock. You could also use any other vegetable stock (maybe add a splash of dark soy sauce or Braggs to darken it a bit perhaps? ! probably not necessary). Massel brand stock can be found in any supermarket I’ve been in to in Australia – including Woolies and Coles. The tins of powdered stuff are great quality, but there are also stock cubes and tetra packs of liquid stock available. Massel is the best instant stock around, and it’s all vegan! Hooray!