Vegan Mofo - 90 ways to show compassion... week 1

Welcome to Vegan Mofo (Month of Food!)

What's it all about, you ask? The concept is simple - vegans making, eating, sharing good food and then blogging about it!

I haven't signed up officially, as time will only allow me to do a limited amount of blogging in a week - BUT this page will be a record of some yummy, scrummy food ideas, to show just how diverse & exciting eating with compassion can be!

I'll post a different meal for breakfast, lunch & supper every day throughout this month!

Some may be simple ideas, 'cos we're all mega busy these days, some will be mini feasts that you can enjoy spending time creating.

But all are made with love - love of delicious, nutritious food, of people, animals and our planet. #vegan #plantpower #whatveganseat #veganMoFo

Enjoy!

p.s. Forgive the lack of 'glamour', I'm neither a professional chef or a photographer - just a passionate home cook! I haven't added recipes, but if something catches your eye and you'd like to know more, please get in touch and I'll gladly help :) Chantal x

Sunday: 01.09.13

A vegan 'sausage' bap, on a bed of fresh spinach in a wholemeal bap with ketchup, mustard and fresh tomatoes on the side.

The addition of spinach makes this a little healthier & the vitamin C in tomatoes helps the body to absorb the iron in the spinach :)

HM Dairy-free, egg-free chocolate cola cake with fudgy frosting & pecans.

What can I say about this?! It's moist, delicious caramelly choco 'heaven'! Has a habit of disappearing very quickly...

HM savoury 'mince' & mushroom puff piewith classic crispy roasties & root veg and steamed green veggies.

Vegan Sunday dinners can beat meaty ones hands down! Look out for 'JusRoll' pastry - this puff is vegan! and I filled it with soya mince & mushrooms in a rich veggie gravy. I love having a variety of veg with meals & on this plate alone there are 6 types accompanying!

Monday 02.09.13

Toasted wholemeal bagel with lashings of soya 'cream cheese', topped with fresh summer berries (raspberries, blueberries, white currants) and drizzled with agave syrup.

As the song goes (showing my age) I don't like Mondays! But I do like a delicious breakfast that makes it worthwhile getting up! So that's what I always plan for a Monday.

Asian spiced edamame rice, spicy potatoes & butterbeans, peppers, cucumber, toms, olives, onion, beetroot & sunflower seed bread. (vegan mayo on the side)

A 'leftovers' lunch! Some of the tastiest lunches are made by raiding the fridge for bits! So handy for a Monday when time is tight & I can eat at home or from a lunch box! 

Spinach and Lentil Grills (From Create a Goodlife) with gyo spuds, fresh salad leaves and some fresh salads mixed with vegan mayo.

For something quick & easy I always keep a few ready-mades in the freezer - these are some of the best & my plate is still full of fresh garden salads & veg too. 

Tue 03.09.13

Honey-free granola with soya milk, soya yoghurt, agave nectar and fresh sliced strawberries.

There are many healthier cereals available these days - I look out for more fibre, less salt, no sugar and no honey.  Better still, homemade granola is simple and yummy and you know exactly what's gone into it!

Hongos a la Mexicana! Mexican-style mushrooms with corn tortillas, 'sour cream' & fresh salad greens.

I LOVE Mexican food and most of it can be veganised! These mushrooms are aromatic as well as spicy & can be cooked in advance to take to work & make everyone jealous :) 

Crispy fried strips of marinated sesame tofu with stirfried sweet and sour mixed veg, on a bed of fluffy steamed basmati rice.

I adore Asian-inspired foods too and strirfries are great vegan meals to make with texture and flavour galore. 

Wednesday 04.09.13

A HM chocolate muffin and fresh raspberry muffin, with a banana and an obligatory coffee!

Dispelling the myth that you need eggs and butter to make great cakes/muffins! A delicious (and not as 'naughty' as you might think) start to the day.

Warm spicy falafel in a toasted wholemeal pitta with fresh HM coleslaw in vegan mayo & some lambs lettuce & cherry tomatoes on the side.

This is a classic, but rightly so, 'cos it's tasty, easy to make and can be eaten on the move if needs be. My nan used to make a mean falafel, learnt from time living in Egypt, & they always bring back fond memories of her.

Creamy wild mushroom stroganoff with coriander basmati rice and steamed tenderstem broccoli.

Bit of a 70's flashback, but a great vegan option - use vegan brandy, soya cream & plenty of smoky paprika.

Thursday 05.09.13

Multigrain seeded toast with vegan spread - 1 slice marmite, 1 slice HM damson jam.

I used to love butter, but there are several great vegan alternatives - sunflower, soya margarine etc. and if you're in the 'love' brigade - Marmite provides a good Vit B hit.

Warm aubergine and asparagus salad with wheatberries and a sweet mustard dressing.

This is a fresh, vibrant, tasty dish - I love mixing warm vegetables with cool crisp salads & seasonal leaves from my garden.

Yuk Sung - savoury mince with garlic, ginger, water chestnuts, spring onions & soy sauce wrapped up with crisp fried rice noodles in crunchy iceberg lettuce leaves.

This is such a tasty & fun dish to make - I use Soya mince & my tip actually would be to use romaine lettuce if you're short on time - a LOT easier to separate the leaves!!!

Friday 06.09.13

Mixed wholegrain cereals with chocolate almond milk and fresh nectarine slices.

Chocolate 'milk' is a bit of a revelation, and it's #bravedave's secret favourite! bless :)

Light lunch of Mediterranean tomato bread topped with hummus and with some salads and grapes on the side.

A little bit of a strange combination, but I quite like to have a light lunch on a Friday, then I can treat myself in the evening!

Oven-baked breaded veggie fingers with crisp golden potato wedges and good old baked beans.

Now come on - who didn't love this kind of food as a kid?! It's quick, tasty, no fish were harmed, and it's perfect for a Friday night :)

Baked Bramley apple stuffed with boozy apricots, almonds and brown sugar - served with 'cream', 'custard' and fresh raspberries.

Whilst we're on a nostalgia trip - these are simple to make, and oh so delicious! I'd forgotten just how delicious, so these go back on the menu every September from now on!

Saturday 07.09.13

'Creamy' tofu scramble on toasted amaranth rye, topped with snipped spring onions and peppers.

#BraveDave prefers this to scrambled eggs! The secret, I've found, is to dry the tofu thoroughly and sautee with a little vegan 'butter' then add a touch of soya cream & a pinch of turmeric for colour.

Malaysian-style Laksa soup - an aromatic coconut broth with fresh vegetables, rice noodles and a hint of chilli.

Everything You'd like to know about this incredible soup can be found in my recipe write-up for it here!

HM spicy thoran curry with cauliflower bhajis, mushroom pilau rice and mango chutney.

Now this has got you all going! The most RTs and Faves on Twitter by far!! Everyone loves a curry it seems and this one is a little different because of the dry sweet cabbage and fresh coconut combination. It's delicious.



And so that's the end of #VeganMofo week 1!

Some simple soul-filling - belly-filling nostalgia foods.
If you're looking at this and you're not vegan - did it occur to you, where's the meat?
Plant-based foods can be so incredibly diverse and tasty and yet at the same time, as I think this shows, you don't need to forgo any of your favourite classics and comfort dishes.

So - back into the kitchen I go - get ready for week 2!

Love

Chantal xx

Recipe: 16 minute 'Chilli non Carne' ...

Yep - that's right- in just 16 minutes I made a delicious (if I say so myself) Vegan chilli non carne. Who says fast food has to be unhealthy?

Having spent all day trotting round the Devon County Show - with little sustenance on offer for Vegans (no shock really) belly rumbles spurred me into a bit of 'power' cooking.

Now I've been making chilli con carne for years and loving it, but since going veggie (now Vegan) all I really changed was the meat and stock content, and, guess what - I think the flavour of this Vegan version is better! And with no nasty saturated fat and dead cow in the pot it's a total win win.

Now I do have my own perfect secret recipe filed somewhere - but this was my quick fire version and it turned out pretty well, so I'm jotting it down here for you while I think of it.

'Hola'! deliciousness...

 [Serves 6 - so it's really good value]

Gather:

1 tbsp oil (I used olive)

1 large brown onion - finely chopped

good squirt of garlic puree (or 3 - 6 cloves of fresh, finely chopped garlic)

1-2 fresh chillies - finely chopped (I used one 'medium heat' red one)

2 bell peppers (1 red & 1 green) - chopped into small squares

1-2 tsp chilli powder (I used 1 tsp of hot chilli powder)

1 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tbsp dried oregano

2 vegetable stock cubes (or 2 tsp vegetable bouillion powder)

3 tbsp tomato puree (approx - I just squeezed the tube 3 times!)

1 pack meat substitute (such as Tesco frozen Vegan soya mince 454g)

1 x 400g tin chopped plum tomatoes

1 x 200g tin cooked red kidney beans (I never use a whole tin, as I only like a few)

boiling water to make up the vegetable stock

Create:

Set your timer...ready, set, go!

1. OK - fill the kettle and put on to boil, run around demented and grab your ingredients while you heat the oil in a large pan on a medium heat.
2. Chop the onion, throw in the pan and while you gently fry the onion chop the fresh chillis and the peppers.
3. Add the garlic puree, chillis and peppers to the pan and fry a little more.
4. Add in all of the spices and the stock cubes/powder, mix well and cook gently for a minute or so.
5. Add the 'meat', tomato puree, tinned tomatoes and kidney beans and then add boiled water to the level of the top of the mix.
6. Give it all a good stir, bring to the boil and then turn down to a gentle simmer.

Phew!

This should take you up to the 16 minute stage (or thereabouts).

You can simmer the chilli for another 10-30 minutes until it reduces down and the sauce thickens beautifully. (Don't be tempted to thicken with cornflour, as, in my opinion you need the sauce to be lovely and rich - so reduction is better than thickening a weak sauce.) Have a little taste and add some salt and pepper to your liking.

Meanwhile get your rice/tacos/tortillas/nachos and condiments ready and prepare for some hot mouth-tingling food action!

Enjoy! 

On this occasion I cheated and microwaved some Veet basmati ready-rice and served with some homemade coleslaw I already had in the fridge from dinner the night before.

But the other picture above was of more of the chilli making an appearance a couple of days later, along with some homemade nachos and a dip.

The final batch will get used on a baked potato with some Vegusto Vegan 'cheddar cheese' I would think!
Great accompaniments include Vegan sour cream, guacamole and some jalapenos as well if you love it super spicy!

Cooks tip: Add a strip of dark chocolate and melt into the chilli at the very end. This is a genuine Mexican addition that really elevates this dish in a way that you can't quite put your finger on...

p.s. Let me know if you beat my 16 minutes!

Chantal xx