The Spice Project

[tweetmeme source=”VeganChickie”] Aside from the food, bare-chested chef and I aren’t usually ones to celebrate Christmas, we don’t decorate our house, or have a tree or even buy each other gifts, but this year, after I spent 5 whole minutes searching for ground nutmeg in our disastrously disorganised spice drawer, I decided to break tradition and get us both the gift of organised herbs and spices.

Originally I had my heart set on making us something like the Dean & Deluca Spice Rack pictured here:

Which, while absolutely gorgeous, wouldn’t be entirely practical for use here. For a start, those tubes hold such tiny amounts of spices that I would still need to have storage space for all the excess and we have such a small kitchen that it just wasn’t feasible. Combined with the fiddly tops, the fragility of the tubes themselves and the fact that not only do I have limited bench space but I could only find test tube holders for a maximum of 24 tubes and we have over 70 spices in our drawer. All in all it was looking like it was a bad idea. Besides, we all know that spices need to be kept in the dark in order to hold their freshness right?

So, beautiful but impractical test tubes aside, I decided to focus instead, on turning our current disorganised spice drawers (we have two) into beautiful, alphabetized, anal retentive spice drawers. First up I found a local wholesale supplier of great quality glass jars who had an excellent deal on some beautiful hexagonal jars. They fit into each other beautifully in the drawer – like honeycomb – which means there isn’t a lot of movement or unnecessary clinking every time you open the drawer. Next up I found a seller on Etsy who makes waterproof and dishwasher safe labels and I got her to set me up a custom listing with all our spices, as well as some blanks for any interesting spices we acquire in the future. Then I just had the fun job of putting it all together, secretly transferring all the spices into the new jars and voila! Our new spice drawers live! The hardest part was keeping it all a secret from bare-chested chef until Christmas morning!

Each jar is 9cm tall and holds 190ml which is small enough to fit into even the most frugal drawer space but big enough to hold a really good amount of product. The metal lids cost a little more than the plastic ones but will have a much longer lifespan and – in my opinion – look much prettier too, and best of all, the drawers are nice and dark so the spices all stay lovely and fresh! Here are some before, in-progress and after photos of the project:

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Vegan Christmas Cake

[tweetmeme source=”VeganChickie”] My apologies Dear Readers for the lack of recipes appearing over the last months. For those of you who don’t know, I’m pregnant! So amidst the morning sickness and exhaustion and food aversions, I’ve been focusing on cooking up this Vegan Chicklet and not spending too much time in the kitchen.

The last few weeks though, I’ve been feeling that cooking urge more and more, so fingers crossed that it will translate into some vegan food inspiration for us all.

Some of you will remember our Christmas Feast from last year – yum! Well, during the planning of this years festive meal, it occurred to me that there was a noticeable lack of Christmas themed desserts last year – as delicious as my chocolate pie is, it’s not all that Christmassy is it? – so this year I’m bringing back all the favourites from last year, like the nut roast and vegan stuffing, but will be topping the meal off with a humble Christmas Cake.

Ideally you’ll start preparing this cake the day before you plan to bake it, so that the fruit has plenty of time to soak up the alcohol.

Vegan Christmas Cake

Ingredients:

400g currants
200g sultanas
200g raisins
150g red glace cherries (quartered)
50g green glace cherries (quartered)
50ml brandy
225g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground mixed spice
225g non-dairy butter
225g brown sugar
Egg replacement equiv. 4 eggs (the exact amount will depend on the brand you use, I use Orgran)
50g almonds (chopped)
50g walnuts (chopped)
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Grated zest of 1 orange
150g almonds (whole – to top the cake with before baking)

NB: You will also need baking paper.

Method:

The day before you plan on baking the cake, weigh out your dried fruit and place it in a large mixing bowl. Pour in the brandy in 3 lots, stirring well so that the fruit is well coated. Cover with a tea towel and let sit overnight (minimum 12 hours for best results).

The following day, preheat the oven to 140 degrees. Sift the flour, salt and spices into a mixing bowl. In a separate large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until well combined and fluffy. Prepare your ‘egg’ mixture as directed on the packaging and add it to the creamed mix one tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each tablespoon is added.

Fold in the flour and spice mixture, using gentle folding movements to keep in as much air as possible – do not whisk or beat the mix. Fold in the fruit, mixed peel, chopped nuts and the lemon and orange zest.

Transfer the mixture to a greased non stick cake tin, spread the mixture evenly with the back of a spoon and gently place the whole almonds on the top of the mixture in any pattern you like. Cover the tin with a double layer of baking paper with a 3cm hole in the middle.

Bake the cake on the lowest shelf in your oven for 4 and a half hours (yes, you read that right!). After 4.5 hours test the cake to see if it is cooked by inserting a skewer through the middle, if the skewer comes out clean the cake is ready, if not bake for another 15 minutes and then try again. Once the cake is ready, remove it from the oven and leave it to cool for 30 minutes, after 30 minutes remove from the tin and place on a wire rack to finish cooling, then store it in an airtight container.

Traditionally Christmas cakes are also ‘fed’ more brandy after the cooking is done but personally this cake was already boozy enough for me and since I’m pregnant and can’t drink, I left out this stage entirely. The feeding is supposedly to keep the cake as moist as possible but if you are planning on eating it within a few days I don’t think it’s required. If you would like to ‘feed’ your cake, put some small holes in the top with a skewer and spoon a few teaspoons of brandy over the top at intervals (whenever you like really) and store it in an airtight container.

Green Smoothie Recipe #6 – Passionfruit & Banana

[tweetmeme source=”VeganChickie”]The smell of fresh Passion fruit always reminds me of my Mum’s favourite dessert – and culinary specialty – Pavlova. Since becoming a vegan, pavlova is out of my reach, I do have dreams of creating the perfect vegan Pav, but until I do (or someone else does, get to it team!) I satisfy my passionfruit cravings with passion fruit green smoothies. My Mum lives in QLD and has a beautiful passion fruit vine climbing in her yard so we have an abundance of beautiful fresh passion fruit ripe for the picking while we are here on holidays, what a treat!

Passionfruit & Banana Green Smoothie

Ingredients:

4 passionfruit (flesh & seeds only)
1 banana, peeled
1 apple, core removed
4 large silverbeet leaves
1 tbs ground chia seeds (optional)
1/2 cup water

Method:

1. Place your fruit in the blender, add water and blend until smooth, add your ‘greens’ and blend again until smooth. Add your chia seeds and blend until they are mixed through. Serve.

Amounts above will be enough for 2 smoothies.

NOTE: The amount of water you use will depend on how thick you like your smoothie, I just use enough to get the blender going nice and fast, if you like your mixture to be less thick, add more water.

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Green Smoothie Recipe #5 – Kiwi & Peach

[tweetmeme source=”VeganChickie”] Savoy Cabbage is one of the stronger flavoured leafy greens out there so I recommend saving it until you have a bit of green smoothie practice under your belt, you’ll notice that in the recipe below I have replaced my usual creamy ingredient (banana) with avocado, this reduces the sweetness of the smoothie but adds a wonderful creamy texture.

Savoy, Kiwi & Peach Smoothie

Ingredients:

2 handfuls of savoy cabbage leaves
1 avocado, peeled and seed removed
1 kiwi fruit, peeled
1 cup pineapple chunks
1 peach, pit removed
1 tbs agave nectar (or other sweetener)
1 tbs chia seeds (optional)
1/2 cup frozen berries (optional)

Method:

1. Place your fruit in the blender, add water and blend until smooth, add your ‘greens’ and blend again until smooth. Add your chia seeds and blend until they are mixed through. Serve.

Amounts above will be enough for 2 smoothies.

NOTE: The amount of water you use will depend on how thick you like your smoothie, I just use enough to get the blender going nice and fast, if you like your mixture to be less thick, add more water.

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Green Smoothie Recipe #4 – Pomegranate Smoothie

[tweetmeme source=”VeganChickie”] Pomegranate has always been a favourite of mine. When I was growing up we had a pomegranate tree in our backyard and I used to love picking them and eating them seed by seed until my finger tips were stained red, unfortunately we aren’t able to get them in the town where I live but at the moment bare-chested-chef and I are on holidays in sunny QLD so I am able to experience pomegranate joy once more.

Pomegranate Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 pomegranate, seeds only
1 banana
1 apple
3 handfuls of spinach leaves
1 tbs ground chia seeds (optional)
1/2 cup water

Method:

1. Place your fruit in the blender, add water and blend until smooth, add your ‘greens’ and blend again until smooth. Add your chia seeds and blend until they are mixed through. Serve.

Amounts above will be enough for 2 smoothies.

NOTE: The amount of water you use will depend on how thick you like your smoothie, I just use enough to get the blender going nice and fast, if you like your mixture to be less thick, add more water.

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Green Smoothie Recipe #3 – Spinach & Berry

[tweetmeme source=”VeganChickie”] I have my doubts about adding berries to green smoothies, I’ve read that adding berries to green smoothies is a great way to convince kids to give them a try because they change the colour from a frightening green to a much more appetising purple, but in my experience, as soon as I add the greens, my smoothie goes from beautiful purple to a very uninspired brownish-black sludge (yum, right?). If you can ignore the colour, this spinach, berry mixture is my favourite smoothie combo, it might be best to drink it out of a covered cup though so that you don’t have to see the colour! It might be a matter of simply adding more berries to get a better colour. If you manage to get a purple green smoothie, let me know, I’d love to hear your secret.

Spinach & Berry Smoothie

Ingredients:

3 handfuls spinach leaves
1 banana, peeled
1 cup pineapple chunks
1 cup frozen berries
1 peach, pit removed
1/2 cup water
1 tbs chia seeds (optional)

Method:

1. Place your fruit in the blender, add water and blend until smooth, add your ‘greens’ and blend again until smooth. Add your chia seeds and blend until they are mixed through. Serve.

Amounts above will be enough for 2 smoothies.

NOTE: The amount of water you use will depend on how thick you like your smoothie, I just use enough to get the blender going nice and fast, if you like your mixture to be less thick, add more water.

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Mushroom Pâté

[tweetmeme source=”VeganChickie”] I made this pâté as part of the Vegan Beef Wellington recipe I made a couple of weeks ago but I liked the pâté so much that I thought I would post it as a separate entry, it’s such a fast and easy recipe and it’s definitely delicious enough to deserve it’s own post. Also it will be much easier for me to find this way! Apologies in advance for the dodgy photo, I know it doesn’t look appetising, but pâté is just one of those things that looks kinda gross, you’ll have to take my word for it that it’s delicious.

Mushroom Pâté

Ingredients:

1 tbs non dairy margarine
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 small leek, chopped
2 cups button mushrooms, chopped
2 tsp tamari
1 tbs vegan mayonnaise
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup soft silken tofu
1/2 cup walnuts
1 tsp dried thyme

Method:

1. Heat half your margarine a fry pan over medium heat, add your leek, mushrooms, tamari and the thyme. Cook for approximately 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until mushrooms are cooked.

2. Place the mushroom mixture into your blender, add mayonnaise, breadcrumbs, tofu and walnuts and blend until smooth. Place in a small bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

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Green Smoothie Recipe #2 – Spinach & Peach

[tweetmeme source=”VeganChickie”] Spinach is a great ‘green’ ingredient to work with when you’re just starting out on green smoothies. It is especially good if you plan on making smoothies for your children because of all the leafy greens I’ve tried, it has the least strong flavour so your smoothie will taste much more fruity than if you use other types of green leafy vegetables.

You’ll notice over the course of Green Smoothie month here on Vegan Chickie that I consistently put ground chia seeds in my smoothies, this is a totally optional ingredient, personally I try to use chia seeds as much as possible because they have so many nutritional benefits but if you don’t have them it’s not a problem at all.

Spinach & Peach Smoothie

Ingredients:

3 handfuls spinach leaves
1 banana, peeled
1 navel orange, peeled
1 peach, pit removed
1/2 cup water
1 tbs ground chia seeds

Method:

1. Place your fruit in the blender, add water and blend until smooth, add your ‘greens’ and blend again until smooth. Add your chia seeds and blend until they are mixed through. Serve.

Amounts above will be enough for 2 smoothies.

NOTE: The amount of water you use will depend on how thick you like your smoothie, I just use enough to get the blender going nice and fast, if you like your mixture to be less thick, add more water.

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Leek, Mushroom and Lentil Samosas

[tweetmeme source=”VeganChickie”] I guess technically this shouldn’t be called a samosa recipe since I used puff pastry instead of the traditional short-crust pastry. You could use either with success though, so it’s up to you which you choose, in my case the puff pastry was just the only stuff I had in the freezer. Either way, the filling was delicious, really rich and warm and mushroomy.. hmmmm.. I’ll definitely be making this one again. This is the kind of recipe you pull out when the omnivores come to visit, to knock their socks off. This one would also freeze really well if you wanted to make a double batch.

Leek, Mushroom & Lentil Samosas

Ingredients:

1 tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small leek, chopped
3 cups chopped button mushrooms
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 tbs mushroom soy sauce
1 tbs hot curry powder
1/3 cup of frozen peas
1/2 400g can of lentils
2 sheets of puff pastry

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a medium pan over medium heat, add the garlic and leek and saute until translucent. Add mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are cooked. Add vegetable stock, soy sauce, curry powder and mix well. Simmer for 5 minutes and then add your peas and lentils. Simmer until most of the moisture has disappeared. Remove from the heat and allow mixture to cool.

2. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Cut your puff pastry sheets into 4 equal squares, spoon the mixture onto the middle of the pastry square and then fold the square in half to make a triangle, press the edges of the pastry down with your fingers to seal the edges. The mixture will make approximately 8 samosas, depending on how much mixture you put in each.

3. Place the samosas on a baking tray and bake for 30 minutes.

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Green Smoothie Recipe #1 – Silverbeet & Banana

[tweetmeme source=”VeganChickie”] Silverbeet is my favourite ‘leafy green’ smoothie ingredient, it’s super cheap, excellent for you and it doesn’t have a very strong taste like some of the other ingredients (savoy cabbage anyone?). Best of all, the dark green leaves give a great green smoothie colour.

When I first started making green smoothies I did used to add a little sweetener (agave nectar usually but whatever you have is fine), these days I rarely add a sweetener because I find that the fruit makes it sweet enough but if you do need your smoothie sweetened a little, you’ll find that a tablespoon of agave makes all the difference.

Silverbeet & Banana Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 red apple, core removed
1 banana, peeled
1 navel orange, peeled
2 handfuls of silverbeet leaves
10 mint leaves
1 tbs ground chia seeds (optional)
1/2 cup of water

Method:

1. Place your fruit in the blender, add water and blend until smooth, add your ‘greens’ and blend again until smooth. Add your chia seeds and blend until they are mixed through. Serve.

Amounts above will be enough for 2 smoothies.

NOTE: The amount of water you use will depend on how thick you like your smoothie, I just use enough to get the blender going nice and fast, if you like your mixture to be less thick, add more water.

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