Vegans are cool!!!!!

I am excited, yes its been roughly 6 weeks now that I have gone vegan and I am absolutely loving it. I love that I now don’t have that nagging little voice telling me that I needed to do it, I love that it make me feel good and best of all, cutting out all crap…I have even managed to shed a couple of kilos.

Something that struck me when I turned vegan was that I was almost apologetic about it, like having to explain myself, like what I was doing needed to be justified in some ways. I was actually taken aback by the change, I’ve always been a very proud vegetarian, and defended, boasted and even flaunted my vegetarianism. To make this change and almost feel ashamed that I have made it had me wondering “why”. I put it down to the fact that I was being an inconvenience and thinking that people thought I was boring.

So, in celebration of my 6 weeks I will also celebrate my liberation, I will not be apologetic anymore, that's fine, I'll bring a dish to dinner.  I will not be ashamed, I am actually making a difference, and finally I will not laugh with embarrassment when I am asked "so what do you eat" or I get "the nuts were living till you ate them" jokes.
Vegans are as cool as they come!!!!

Chinese Takeway...at home

Yesterday was one of those days, went home starving and I needed to eat a good scrumptious meal. So I decided that we would have Asian and I would use some of the mock chicken I bought from the Lotus Supermarket.  I wouldn't call this meal healthy because of the mock meat, but substitute it for some tofu and you've got a good healthy Chinese takeaway meal...oh and very very simple.

"Chicken" Stirfry:

Ingredients:

1 packet mock chicken
2 cloves garlic
small piece of ginger finely sliced
1 fresh chilli (you can use less or more depending on your taste)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 Tsp sesame oil
2 TBS rice wine vinegar
1 tsp brown sugar
1tsp (or more) cornflour
veges: I used, 1 capsicum, chinese baby cabbage, spring onions, Broccoli

Method:

Fry Ginger, Garlic and chilli till fragrant
Add veges and stir fry
Add chicken (I baked the chicken before adding to veges so it was crispy)
To make sauce add soy, sesame oil, sugar, vinegar and conrflour and mix well
When veges are tender add sauce allow to cook and thicken.

Coconut Rice.

This is the easiest and yummiest thing ever.

1 Cup Basmati rice, soaked and rinsed till water ran clear
1 cup water
1 cups coconut milk
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp Tumeric (for the colour)
salt to taste.

Method:

Combine all ingredients into a microwave dish
Cover with cling wrap
Cook on high for 12 to 14 minutes checking to see if rice is cooked.
Timings will depend on your microwave.

Note:  This rice can be made extra special by frying some cashews and sultana in some oil and adding when rice is done.  You can also add 1 clove and 1 cardamom pod when cooking.

Onwards and Upwards!!!!!!

I've had an extremely good day, it probably has to do with the fact that I am training, I love training, I wish I could do it all day everyday.  I've also had 2 cups of very large coffees which might have something to do with it. 

With all the turmoil of whether we made the right decision moving here, whether I wanted to stay or go, whether I was in the right job, still being questioned, I've decided to let my brain decide rather than my emotions.  I cannot continue my up and down rollercoaster, it is not good for me or Markus.  So I've decided....Perth is where home is, I will stay put for the next 12 months and complete my postgraduation, and I am reviving my 33.5 yr plan. 

Something else that I intend doing is getting back to my fitness regime, I find I feel alot better when I exercise and I am also alot more confident and I generally perform better.  I intend writing a separate post on this because I need to be held accountable and this will do it and also...help me keep track.
This is a good plan, it is a sound plan, it is a plan that suits both Markus and myself.  I will resolve my mid life crisis buy rewarding myself with an iPad instead.

So there you go folks...onwards and upwards...

Lotus Restaurant - Review

Woohoo my first restaurant review!!!!! On Friday I dragged my very carnivorous brother in law and good friend to Lotus along with Markus.  I have been dying to try this restaurant since we got to Perth because it was vegan mock meat heaven.  Admittedly, I like mock meat, I used to eat it more often than I do now because I found that it just would not agree with me and I put on way too much weight eating it.  So now I leave it for special occasions...like this one.

Lotus is located on James Street, a very modest little restaurant, it had plastic chairs and table covers.  On arriving we were quickly seated be the lady in charge, we were brought menus and served Chinese Tea and Water, we brought some wine with us. The menu was huge and consisted of every meat (mock) under the sun, every Chinese dish you could think of was on there from Mongolian Lamb to Chicken to even Offal. On the lady's suggestion we agreed on the banquet (even though it was a minimum of 6 and we were only 4).

The friend who came along with us looked at me a bit puzzled...asked me if I was ok eating the Satay Chicken...more than happy to play a joke I said yes.  He never realised that he was in a vegan restaurant.

Anyway the Entrees came and it was a platter of satay chicken sticks, spring rolls and deep fried wonton.  The satay sauce that accompanied the chicken was to die for and had everyone uuuuummmmming.  Following the entree was Mongolian Lamb, Prawn and Vege Stirfry, Fish Curry and Crispy fried Duck with Steamed rice.  The Mongolian lamb came out sizzling and the sauce was beautiful with little black beans and vegetables, the texture was a bit too real for me but I ate it.  The Prawn Stirfy...I have to admit I did not touch.  I am not a seafood person and from accounts at the table was a bit bland and too fishy.  Next came the fish curry, now this I was truly dubious about but I had some anyway.  I have to say that this was the best dish of the night, it was spicy, coconuty and just plain yummy.  The fish again was a bit too real, so I ate one piece and just ate the curry.  Just as we thought that we could not eat anymore out came the duck.  Now this I knew was going to be the real challenge, skin on and beautiful sauce on the top I told myself there was no way I was going to eat it.  But I tried it and to my surprise actually liked it, it was crispy the sauce was beautiful and the only thing that stopped me from devouring it was my tummy, I was so stuffed from all the food all I could eat was a couple of pieces.  Dessert was a fruit platter...which was a good thing.

All in all it was a good dinner, the meat eaters liked it and I will definitely go back.  The banquet costed us $19.95 with $1 corkage, I would suggest going on an empty stomach though, the food was very filling.  Attached to the restaurant was a supermarket and I purchased some fried chicken pieces, BBQ pork buns (very scrumptious), wontons (a bit too fishy, will not be buying this again) and some satay sticks. 

So would I recommend this restaurant...Yes, if your into your mock meat!!!!!!! and I give it 3.5 stars ;)

Mid Week Indian

After a particularly crappy day at work I decided I needed the only thing that would make me feel better...Indian...oh and some wine.  Admittedly, the one thing I fail at cooking is Indian, I've followed recipes to the T and they have never turned out right, they just taste the same and bland oh so bland.  It probably has to do with my parents being excellent cooks and nothing I do ever compares.

However, I managed to master this meal, it is healthy and easy and they are one pot wonders.  The rice is particularly healthy, with the help of Calorie King I managed to calculate that each serving is approximately 200 calories...that is excellent for the weight conscious!!!!

The meal consists of red lentils and brown rice with veg, an eggplant dish, and potato chips.  Last night I had my brother in law over for dinner so I added frozen chappatis to the meal...why frozen I hear you ask...because I cannot for the life of me make fresh chappatis, I have tried and failed many, many times, now I just resort to frozen.  They are pretty good, I got 30 chappatis for $4.50 from the local Indian Grocer.  Keep in mind though that each chappati is 115 calories and they are paper thin. 

Anyway, enough of all that calorie crap.  Here is a quick run down on the rice and the Eggplant:

Red Lentil and Brown Rice:

This is a one pot dhal and rice dish, its the best way I can describe it.

Ingredients:

2 TBS Olive Oil
1 Tsp Mustard Seeds (optional but yummy)

1 Onion

2 TBS Ginger Garlic Paste
2 tsp Cumin
2.5 Tsp Coriander
1 Tsp Chilli (or more if you like it spicy)
2 Tsp Tumeric
1 Tsp Garam Masala (I like to add it at the start as opposed to the end)
1 Cup Brown Rice
2 Cups Red Lentils

Veg that I throw in: 1 chopped carrot, 1/4 cauliflower, I frozen pack of spinach and frozen peas when dish is almost done.  You can use any veg you want.

Method:

Fry Mustard till it starts popping
Add onion and Ginger Garlic paste till translucent and almost browning
Add all the spices and slightly toast, if it starts to burn just add a bit more oil.

Add rice and lentils and coat with spices, cook for a minute

Add veg that needs cooking like carrots and cauliflower, if using frozen spinach I just add the block now.
Add Water till it reaches a centimetre above the rice and lentils. 
Season to taste

Note:  The only tricky thing about this dish is that once it come to a boil and starts cook you need to stir it every 3 minutes so its doesn't catch at the bottom.  Keep tasting the rice and cook till the rice is soft and edible.  The finished product is gooey and delish.  You might think that you've added way too much water but that is the consistency and it is also because of the lentils.  If you leave it overnight, it solidifies.

Eggplant Dish:

1 Large Eggplant diced, salted for 15 minutes and washed

1 Onion
1 tbs Ginger garlic paste
1 tbs Cumin
1 Tbs Coriander
1 Tbs Curry Powder
2 Tbs Tomato paste

Method:

Fry Onion and Ginger Garlic Paste in Oil
Add spices and toast
Add tomato paste and fry for a further 2 minutes
Add Eggplant and coat well with spice mix
Add 1 1/2 cups of water
Cook till the eggplant is tender and all the water evaporates and turns into a thick sauce.

Serve the dishes with yummy potato chips, just thinly sliced potatoes oven baked and seasoned.  Papadaams are also a favourite at our place!!!!

Enjoy a taste of ...South India!!!!

Biscuits for all!!!!!

I made the most delicious little cookies to take on my trip to the Pinnacles on Sunday, everyone loved them even swaping (normal) chocolate chicp cookies with Markus for my vegan jam drops.  They were so easy and quick and you only need one lot of cookie dough to make both cookies. 

Things to remember when making these little gems, the cinnamon in the recipe is optional...but when used it takes the cookies to a whole other level of deliciousness.  In the chocolate chip cookies I used a mixture of lindt 70% and Sweet Williams, I then did another batch with just the Sweet Williams...use both, the bitterness of the dark chocolate and the sweetness of the dough makes for awesome cookies.  Lastly, when baking think about your oven, keep checking and the softer they are the better. 

So here it is, I just doubled the quantities, divided and added the chocolate chips to one part.  For the Jam drops make into little balls, indent them with the back of your wooden sppon to make little holes and fill with the best jam you can find, I used strawberry jam. 

Ingredients

2 cups unbleached flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp.salt
cinnamon to taste (optional)
vegan chocolate chips
1 cup raw sugar
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil (I used olive oil and it was fine)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup water

Directions:
Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature.  
Preheat oven to 350.
In a large bowl mix flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon (if you choose). Add chips. Make a well in the center and set aside.
In a medium size bowl mix vegan sugar and oil. Mix it well.
Add the vanilla and then add the water.
Add the wet to the well in the dry.
Mix it well but be careful not to overwork it.
Spoon onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Put them in the oven. Bake for 5 minutes and then flip and rotate the sheets.(top to bottom,and 180 degree rotation) Bake another 4 minutes and check them.

TADDDDAAAAAA:

I also made these wraps for lunch, just some mock chicken, fried with onions and Garlic, with your favourite Italian sauce, I added some baby cos, tomatoes that I oven roasted with Balsamic and olive oil and Jalepenos for me, not for Markus.  Was superb, had it with some roast veg couscous.

Pity Post

Well its not been a very nice 3 days, hence why the 3 blog posts a day ceased for a little while.  For a start I was told that I was moving departments...I don't want to, I love my manager.  I am losing my office...I don't want to, I love being on my own.  AND to add to all of this, I had a run in with the PR department...JOY!!!!! All this in the last week. 

I also think I am experiencing mid life crisis.  I know, I know, many would say that I am only 30, but since I have turned 30 more than 2 months ago I have been living in panic mode.  I have heard stories of women who had their biological clock start ticking at 30, they wanted kids, to settle down, to "build a nest".  I have gone in the opposite direction.  I have started having vivid dreams of leaving everything behind, and jetting off to New York on my own.  I've investigated teaching English in Germany and moving there.  I've had the urge to follow our initial dream of living and working in Dubai.  I have even toyed with the idea of moving back to India.

Now you might say this is natural and with no kids should be easy enough.  The reality is it is not...not for us.  We spent a fortune moving from Melbourne to Perth, we have 4 pets who are our babies, we would not be able to go unless we rehomed them.  I hate feeling helpless, of not having a plan, of not being able to  move forward.  My heart is breaking, I cannot be here, I feel like I am slowly but surely suffocating.  I just cannot be here.