Busy today and in Newtown, vegan extravaganza for some.  Lunch consisted of a BBQ vegan Chinese bun, a banana drink clearly labelled 'vegan' where it once was not the case and Made in Australia Butter Babe, Spread, Sizzle, Slay Barely Salted Dairy Free European-style Cultured Butter with another purchase its sister Made In Australia Butter Babe Truffle Tease Truffle Parmesan Dairy Free European-style Cultured Butter. The Vegan sign clearly showing at the back of the packet. Moving on....

There is a saying amongst salsa aficionados when the question is asked: What makes a successful salsa? The answer is "No less than 3 from the categories and no more than 6 from the categories". See previous post. Here are two more salsas I would like to share with you today.

Fresh Pineapple and Red Hot Chilli Peppers

1 fully ripe pineapple

a handful of red hot chilli peppers

1/2 red onion

1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed

a splash of rice…

This is a 5-day vegan meal plan as devised by myself.

Day 1.

Breakfast: 2 slices of wholemeal toast and a vegan spread which is Nooch (nutritional yeast)

Snack: 1 medium mango, 4 strawberries

Lunch: 1 large salad with lemon and olive oil dressing. One skillet flatbread with Spanish black olives and dried crushed chillies

Snack: 1 large bunch of grapes

Dinner: Air-ovened 3 blistered baby capsicums (red, orange and yellow) in olive oil stuffed with…

Ideas for ‘Nice Bites’ – My Mezze Plate consists of ….

Lunch box size rice balls- festive, plain or grated beetroot, Dolmades, a whipped avocado and garlic dip, a beetroot and ‘Greek-style’ dairy-free yoghurt dip, a pumpkin and cashew cream dip, slices of avocado rolled in a few black sesame seeds and served with a thyme, garlic or a saffron aioli, fresh sliced tomatoes with Greek seasonings, a selection of mixed herbed olives, onion, sesame and white miso dip, raw carrots and…

Sydney Vegan. Abolitionist. Welcome to my edition of Vegan Verve. This is a celebration of conscious eating and an empowerment of vegan products, producers and manufacturers. Vegan Verve hails all those who empower plant-based culture and we support you with our minds, our hearts and our bucks. We can create something special together for the animals, our health, the environment and all that is planet-friendly. This are a vegan run one page space.  It's also logical to support local…

Lunch at Dana's Cafe in Marrickville consisted of a vegan roll, avocado, mushrooms, spinach and grilled onions on a vegan bun. Your choice of plant-based sauce. I chose mayonnaise. The Greeks know how to make something as simple as a vegan roll delicious! The vegan rolls are made on the premises the proprietor told me. 

The Village Wholefood place in Marrickville is closing down. There are still plenty of bargains. My stash today includes a lovely little kitchen blackboard for recipe writing, 30% off unhulled tahini, an enamel fruit bowl at .50cents, turkish rosemary for under $1.50 and a bag of buckwheat flour at $4.00. Not bad for a days shopping

Foodies Love Food. Name 22 Ways the 'Foodie' Tag Benefits a Vegan

1. It can provide a broader canvas to work from.

2. It might create larger supermarket shelf space and some vegans believe this is where the future lies.

3. Everyday of our life, and our families lives, we eat to survive 3 times a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner. We can't live without food or water. It pays to be a vegan foodie.

4. Foodies grow more food.

5. Foodies form lasting…

Whether it be Black, White, Green or Pink peppercorns did you know they all come from the same stem it's just a case of maturity as represented by their colour.  They are all anti-inflammatories, circulatory stimulants, antioxidents and suit Mexican cooking. Pink peppercorns are used in mojos as a garnish, black and white peppercorns  in culinary use are powerful agents in small doses that lends contrast to a dish and green peppercorns are briny, the youngest of all the peppercorns and are…

The 12 tastes are useful to build a vegan pantry repertoire based on taste. They are: Bitter A.K.A. some lettuce leaves for salad, Sweet A.K.A. vegan cream and Sour A.K.A. balsamic and the vinegars, Astringent A.K.A. citrus, Spicy A.K.A. the spices, Salty A.K.A. miso, Hot A.K.A paprika powder, cayenne powder and chilli powder, Plum A.K.A. Japanese plum sauce, umeboshi plum, vegan plum wine etc, Pungent A.K.A. quinoa, mustard etc Tart A.K.A. tamarind, granny smith apples, the Aromatic Herbs…

One Taco - a favourite

White vegan 'fish' or vegan 'fish'bites

1/2 tsp cumin, ground

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp olive oil

Taco Toppings

1/2 small Spanish cabbage

2 medium avocados, sliced

2 tomatoes, diced

1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped or to taste

4 limes, cut into quarters

1/2 c vegan Feta cheese or a vegan white chalky cheese

Add the seasonings: cumin, cayenne pepper,…

Sunday in Newtown for Chaymart's King Street speciality 'Mung Bean' and 'Red Bean' plantbased, dairy-free snack. Here are a few facts for your information F.Y.I. you might like to share.

1. Traditionally they have always been vegan

2. Fried sesame balls are great for getting away from chocolatey snacks for a while

3. They are a sweet pastry

4. The use of glutinous rice makes the dough chewy, light and crisp

5. They are GF, DF, V

6. Other ingredients…

Just out recently: Coconut Milk, Basil and Chia Seeds plantbased drink. Chia seeds are such a powerhouse. They are a great bulking agent like tabioca seeds, they produce a edible foam if left over-night in filtered water and they taste terrific too. There's also Coco Gen Magnesium one of the many coconut waters that's a cut above the rest and Plant Co 100% natural have an organic cashew milk from Brazil available in Sydney, Australia for the first time. 

Acorazados means armoured in Spanish. The tortilla is double to prevent any seepage. First add rice. Next top with guisado (stew) then wrap a second time. "Make mine a double". There are three steps to assembling your Tacos Acorrazado. The three amigos are: Prepare rice, prepare guisado (the stew part, in this case chorizo) and lastly assemble.

Ingredients:

1/2 red pepper

1 Tbsp of vegetable oil

150g long grain white rice

250mls water

a pinch of…

Vegan Ceviche is a dish using white vegan meat like Hearts of Palm chopped up and marinated in lime juice. It is accompanied with diced tomatoes, 2 diced small cucumbers, cilantro and chilli. Raw onion rings too. Lightly toasted Nori flakes makes this a mariners dish. Salt and pepper to taste. It can be served as a cocktail in a shell-shaped lettuce leaf and a vegan Thousand Island dressing on the side. Crushed chilli flakes on top works. Chunks of vegan plant-based lobster and vegan…

1. Lemon All Purpose

1 spray bottle

3 C distilled water

3 Tbs castille soap

1 teaspoon lemon essential oil

2. Lemongrass All Purpose

1 spray bottle

3 C distilled water

3 Tbs castille soap

1 teaspoon lemongrass essential oil

3. Eucalyptus

1 spray bottle

baking soda

citrus acid

1 Tbsp eucalyptus

4.Tea Tree Bathroom

1 spray bottle

1 1/2 C distilled water

2 Tbsp castille…

Getting out of the sweltering heat. Lunch at Mama B's today. Cheezeburger loaded fries was the go made with crumbed beef like patty, pickles, bacon, onion, cheeze sauce and burger sauce. All washed down with a glass of pale ale.

2 x Kara Coconut milk

2x Arlington Tapioca pudding - plant-based Raspberry (GF)

2x Dulce de Leche cartons from Creme Creamery

Earth grown meat-free sausages for sausage rolls

2x pkt frozen plant-based Scrimp on Sugarcane

The Plant Pantry nutritional yeast/nooch

1x pkt Tempeh original

Earth Grown vegan tofu

Plant-based tuna for Paella

Plant-based sardines for Paella

99th Monkey plant-based Smoothie

1 pkt Vegan…

Playing with Bourguignon all week. Plant-based beef is the go however from 'Le Gourmand' takeaways their Bourguignon was made with button mushrooms, carrots and mashed potatoes and so is mine.

Lunch consisted of one peanut butter sandwich and two Ragi finger millet dosai's stuffed with CocoBell coconut yogurt and 'Indian hot' chilli achar. Emma and Tom supplied the apple juice and mango drink.