Balls.

I made these up on the spot tonight because I wanted some sort of energy snack to eat before I run/exercise (and to stop myself from just eating the delicious organic fresh dates I'd bought to make them all at once). These are probably very similar to a million other recipes on the internet.

Ingredients:

1 cup raw almonds
1 cup sultanas
10 fresh dates, pitted
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp spirulina powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp tahini

Pulse the almonds until they are evenly chopped. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until combined. If the mixture doesn't stick together, add a tablespoon or two of water until it does. Form into balls and keep in the fridge until ready to eat!

Spirulina tastes like what it looks like - Green. I like the taste, some people don't like the taste of Green. If you're not sure, perhaps start with a smaller amount :) I put it in my porridge everyday with cocoa powder and it looks like disgusting grey sludge but tastes pretty good. Green, I mean, spirulina, is full of iron, B12, calcium and other good things. As a plus it is easily absorbed.

Brown 'Rice' Sushi and Zucchini Noodles with Almond-Coconut Sauce - Raw

On my birthday, I dragged Nadine to Mrs Flannery's and bought piles and piles of grains and dried beans. Yes, that is my idea of fun. One of the grains I got is whole oat groats - I've been wanting to make oat milk to see what it's like, and I just assume you make it the same way you do brown rice milk.

Anyway I got lots (I love bulk - so cheap!), and I always look at this recipe from Addicted to Veggies, just waiting for a time when I could be bothered making it. (I often keep recipes bookmarked for aaaggges before I finally get around to it). And, I took so long to make it because the idea of eating grains that weren't actually cooked seemed odd to me.

I had a day off work Monday (present to myself haha) so I decided to make it then!

Oooh and it turned out so so good. I put the oat groats in to soak on Sunday night so I could prep it all during the day. I really hate being rushed when sushi rolling is involved! I made half the recipe, in case I didn't like it and because I didn't have quite enough oats to make a full recipe and milk later on.

I had to make a few substitutions:

In the brown 'rice' seasoning - I used sunflower seeds instead of pumpkin seeds, and I used my mortar and pestle to grind everything. It took a little while but it's worth it.

And in the making of sushi rice I used soy sauce instead of coconut aminos or nama shoyu.

I could have just eaten the oats as they were then! Yum. They turn out quite chewy. It's very different, but also very good.

In my sushi filling I had avocado, carrot, red capsicum and garlic chives from my garden.

I had to make something to go on the side, so I had a look around and found this recipe for Spicy Thai Almond-Coconut Sauce. (Scroll down, I think it's the second recipe). So I made some zucchini noodles by peeling and peeling a zucchini until I couldn't peel any more (I want a spiraliser), tossed them with the sauce and some baby spinach, the rest of the zucchini cubed, and the leftover bits of red capsicum that didn't fit in the sushi. I also used lemon juice instead because I didn't want to buy a lime, but I sprinkled some lime zest I had frozen on top to make it limey. Yum. (Good thrifty tip I learned from Vegan on the Cheap).

Extremely good, except for one thing - I used coconut oil instead of coconut butter, not wanting to go and buy butter just for one recipe. I should have, well, not. Next time I make it, if I do, I'm going to skip the oil and used some dessicated coconut instead. It made me feel so sick! I woke up nauseous, went to work and had to come home because I still felt nauseous (I couldn't eat even half my breakfast and the mere thought of eating my morning tea at work made me want to be ill).

But on the motorway on my way home, when I saw one of those 'cage' trucks carrying cows off to whereever they go and burst into tears, I realised the nausea was probably a little more to do with certain lady troubles than just too much coconut oil!

Anyway, I'm glad I've finally had a go at raw 'cooking', especially since eating more raw foods was one of my resolutions! I've done pretty well this year so far. Why make a boring salad when you can make raw sushi out of oats!?

Anyway, I've just finished baking a trial batch of hot cross buns and, wow, they smell amazing. I made some last year which turned out kind of brick-like, so I hope these are nicer. If they worked I'll post my recipe, and make another batch for actual Easter that's coming up soon! I'm not religious, but I do enjoy making holiday food. Mince pies are on my list for Christmas this year, in lieu of my usual trifle! Actually that trifle is so delicious I may have to make both.

Tonight I'm cooking up a big pot of something spicy, and chickpea-y and oil-free to try and make the nausea go away. I've tried sleeping it off, drinking ginger tea and eating marmite toast but it's still there. Ah well. Hopefully I make it to work tomorrow, I don't have that many sick hours clocked up, and getting paid is kind of important to be able to eat.

Almond milk

I splurged and bought myself a soy milk maker a little while ago, and let me tell you, it's been getting a workout! And it's certainly very worth it. Through trial an error I've come up with a soy milk recipe we both like, and I can make it for 50c for 1.5L. Awesome. (The recipe is 100g whole organic soy beans, soaked but unskinned, and 2 tbsp unsweetened dessicated coconut by the way. I got the coconut idea from Theresa at the Tropical Vegan.)

Anyway, we were getting over soymilk, well I was because I'd been eating cereal every morning because it's quick to eat before work, and I just happened to have a kilo bag of almonds and I though why not almond milk? I used to make almond milk myself with a blender and lots of patience and it was delicious (and raw) but my patience ran out so I stopped doing that. 

Ignore the cheeki bottle, I'm going to write another post about those later

For my almond milk using the machine (so much easier, funnily enough) I put 100g raw almonds in to soak for at least an hour, put them into the little filter basket, filled the jug up with 1L of water and pressed the appropriate buttons to make the machine NOT* cook it and waited. 

The end result is a lovely sweet tasting creamy almond milk. I still can't get over how these non-dairy milks are all white, by the way.

It's awesome on cereal. Works well in baking.

Makes a pretty good hot cocoa.

And an even better banana-mixed berry-chia seed-smoothie!

I haven't tried it in coffee or tea because I don't drink those beverages with milk! So you'll have to give it a go yourselves.

I can make 1L of raw almond milk, unsweetened, for $1. Cheaper almonds can be found, however, so it could cost less. Do you know how much this stuff costs in the stores? Like $10, no joke. That's why I've never had storebought before! I've got a whole list of expensive-to-buy non-dairy milks to try and make. Quinoa is one of them. Oat milk. A rice milk that tastes good (haven't been too successful yet!) Hemp? Hmm..

Oh! And it's so so so much easier to clean. All I have to do is rinse the filter basket and the blades and give the heating thing a quick wipe. All clean. With cooked soy I have to scrub the damn thing even if I do it striaght away!

*When I made this using my machine for the first time I used the same process as for soy beans, which cooks the milk...it separated and was gross. So raw it is!

A minute to relax - 2 recipes!

I had a very busy weekend (I did a painting for a silent auction for donation to the Premier's Flood Relief fund thing and it took AAAGGGES) so it was nice to come home from work this afternoon and actually do something I wanted to do. (Not that I didn't want to do the painting! I just didn't have any chores tonight :)) I tidied my garden! I cut back more lemongrass (the stuff just grows and grows!) some flowers I have that were taking over, and I pulled out my basil because the above little buggers had demolished it all. I rescued enough for a pesto though! I have one bean plant growing (Bob dug up the rest, naughty cat) and I fertilised everything with seaweed and the juice from my bokashi bucket.

On Sunday after we went to the beach we made a light lunch. It may no look very exciting but wow it was delicious. The recipe is adapted from 'Australian Good Food' magazine, Jan/Feb 2011.

Barley and Pea Salad

Makes 4 small serves

2 tbsp olive oil

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

pinch of dried chilli flakes

Handful of mint, chopped

1 red onion, finely chopped

Rind and juice of a lemon

1 cup pearl barley

200g frozen peas

250g frozen broad beans

Mix all but the last 3 ingredients into a small bowl and set aside.

Cook barley as you usually do (I use 3 cups water per 1 cup barley, bring to boil and simmer for about 30 mins). In last few minutes add peas and broad beans. Wait for it to reboil and cook for a minute.

Drain barley mix and return to pot or put in a bowl. Stir through dressing and serve!

To make this go further you can add tofu or seitan or something.

On Sunday evening I decided to make something for work lunch/snacks. I've been wanting to make my own muesli bars for ages since store bought ones almost always contain honey or milk powder, or are coated in yoghurt or filled with sugar, or hideously expensive *breath*, and of course are all individually wrapped in plastic and cardboard and printed and etc. Useless wastes. So I came across this recipe that I used as a base for my own bars! Let me tell you, they are the best muesli bars I've ever had. I had one with toast for breakfast this morning and I wasn't starving like I usually am by morning tea.

Homemade Muesli Bars

Makes about 14 bars

1 cup rolled barley

1 cup rolled rye

1/4 cup unsweetened dessicated coconut

2 tbsp chia seeds (black or white)

2 tbsp sunflower seeds, lightly bashed in a mortar and pestle

1/4 cup chopped dried cranberries

1/4 cup chopped nuts (I used almonds and brazil nuts)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

--

1/4 cup rice syrup*

1 tbsp molasses**

1/3 cup tahini

1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.

In a small saucepan, bring rice syrup and molasses to boil. Take off heat. Stir in tahini and vanilla.

Mix into dry ingredients.

Line a brownie pan with baking paper and turn the mixture into it. Get another piece of baking paper and press it all down flat.

Let cool and cut up into bars! I had mine in the fridge before I cut them up and they crumbled a bit. I'd cut it up at room temperature next time.

*Rice syrup is my new honey. I swear to god, it looks like honey, tastes like honey and is as sweet as honey. It even burned my throat a little when I ate a teaspoon, like honey. I don't think it has the same antibacterial properties as honey though ;) I bought this brand.

** I didn't have any maple syrup as stated in the original recipe so I used what I had on hand. Maple syrup would be better.

I've also been making yoghurt :) Proper yoghurt with probiotics and everything (except the dairy). I'll take a good photo of my next batch. The last one looked like vomit. As yoghurt tends to do. Haha. Another storebought vegan alternative that just doesn't cut it for me (SUGAR!!!). The cheap-cheap easiyo yoghut maker called for me at Woolworths!

Fettucine with Zucchini, lemon, tofu and almonds.

I borrowed this recipe from a lovely book my mum got me for Christmas (Stephanie Alexander's Kitchen Garden Companion). The original recipe is called 'Fettucine with Zucchini, Lemon, Ricotta and Fried Almonds' on page 716. I've just edited it to suit our vegan lifestyle :) Most recipes in the book are vegetarian, which is nice.

Ingredients:

Your choice of vegan margarine (I use Nuttelex Lite)

1/3 cup flaked almonds

Fettucine pasta (I used spinach)

2 large zucchini, diced

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 cup chicken style stock (I use Massel)

Juice and zest of one lemon

1/2 block of tofu, diced really tiny

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Method:

Put pasta on to cook.

Fry the tofu until crispy in some margarine. Remove from pan and  drain on paper towel. Using the same pan (you may need to put more margarine in) lightly fry the almonds until light brown. (I burnt mine by accident but it was still good). Remove from pan and drain with tofu.

Put the rest of the ingredients except the parsley and half of the lemon zest into the pan. Bring to a simmer and let cook until pasta is ready, or until zucchini is tender. Stir in the tofu, almonds, parsley and remaining lemon zest and heat for a minute before serving.

This is a light and summery meal that qould have been perfect to eat outside with candles or something. However, it is STILL raining, and we don't have anywhere to eat outside anyway :)

Obviously the tofu cubes replace the ricotta cheese. I was going to go all out and make up an actual tofu ricotta (I always use the recipe from Skinny Bitch) but I couldn't be bothered getting out my blender. It would be fantastic with it though :)