So I’ve started the year of with a list of things I want to do and a plan for how to do them. One of the things I committed to is this blog, another is to do with Arbonne – products I have used for over 6 months now and have absolute faith in, I also want to finish my studies, immerse myself more in the Vegan community, focus on my health & training and get my finances sorted out. There’s a few more things too, as usual I am ambitious with my goals.
One thing I am excited about is reconnecting with one of my girlfriends who is also Vegan, which is something I don’t come across often in my day-to-day, leaving me to often feel quite isolated. So last night we had a movid night with quesadillas, popcorn and non-alcoholic drinkies and it was absolutely what I needed on my first Friday night back in reality!

I’m off to lunch with one of my other close girlfriends and I’m working later tonight so it’s looking to be a very subdued weekend. But yes, I’m back. Did you miss me?
What are your goals for 2012

... but still not Vegan.

I am offended. I’ve been duped twice recently and had one close call. The close call was false excitement that I had found a new Vegan friendly ice-cream to add to the ranks of So Good Chocolate Bliss and Tofutti tubs. When I happened across this Co Yo coconut milk ice-cream, which labelled itself as lactose free, soy free and gluten free, I thought “F**K YEAH!!” (may have actually been my exact thought) but then when I turned it over to see what was actually in it, I found out that they were being specific about no lactose as it still had dairy products in it. Seriously, why not go the whole way? I am disappoint. I shall keep dreaming about Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss.

For years growing up, I had mini-chol as a cheese replacement due to being lactose intolerant, and when I checked the ingredients it always seemed to be entirely Vegan. There are other soy cheeses in the supermarket that contain rennet so I’ve always been paranoid about it. Then a reader left a comment notifying me of it’s non-Vegan status (on my post about making pizza) that made me go back and do some research. The way it seems to me is that either the Mini-Chol manufacturing, ingredients or labelling is inconsistent and they are hard to contact for clarification but it looks like it isn’t Vegan friendly after all. Or it could be, but isn’t worth the risk.

Not that long ago I bought a selection of vegetable dumplings from an Asian grocery. All the bags had translation stickers over the ingredients list with the list written in English, except one type of dumpling. I asked about it and the woman behind the counter assured me they were vegetarian but they just hadn’t been able to get stickers for them yet. Well I bought them anyway as I figured she’d know the product. What I didn’t count on was her interpretation of vegetarian dumplings including those that contained shrimp product, as I discovered when I got curious and Google translated the ingredients list.

It just goes to show that sometimes you think you are being really diligent with ingredients, asking waitstaff and servers, researching and preparing ahead but that there are so many products that contain unnecessary animal products and too often people will dismiss your need for certain dietary requirements as simply being a food dislike, “not important” or “fussy” or anything else. Well, I’m sorry that my Veganism is such an inconvenience to you, but it’s for the benefit of my health and compassion for animals and respect for the environment, so it means a lot to me!

Well, I’ve learned that lesson! I’m chalking it up as taking another step on my Vegan journey, and can now be even more diligent.

Have you learnt the hard way about ingredients in one of your regular (and assumed-friendly) food items?

One meal I never skip is breakfast. These days I wake up hungry and struggle to function properly until I have had breakfast, and I’m not afraid to admit I’m a bit of a zombie before coffee too. If I go for a run before eating it has to be the “foot out the door before my stomach wakes up” kind of early run. I have breakfast phases but I try and mix it up when I can. I always get annoyed when people are so narrow-minded to question what a Vegan eats for breakfast. I eat cereal or toast like the rest of them, but I have soy milk and Nuttelex, and a few way more interesting things too…

Avocado & tomato bagel

I love a bagel, usually with Better Than Cream Cheese but am also partial to a bit of tomato and avocado as well. Bagels are quite dense, and calorie heavy, so not for everyone. Other toppings could be PB&J, or anything that goes on toast. Until they create a Vegan smoked salmon, my old favourite breakfast is a thing of the past.

Millet, pepitas, almonds, bran, psyllium & raisins

Once when I was staying at my parents’ house, I raided the cupboard for breakfast and found a bunch of random healthy stuff, so I threw it all in a bowl and had it with rice milk as some kind of crazy cereal. Slivered almonds, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), oat bran, millet, psyllium husks and raisins made for quite an interesting mix. Not bad though, could have done with some fresh fruit and/or soy yoghurt.

French toast with grilled pear

If you have bread, non-dairy milk and egg replacer, French toast is easy. If you have cinnamon sugar, maple syrup and pears then French toast is awesome! I just grilled (broiled?) them with brown sugar until they were slightly caramelly and they were perfect with the toast. I think I actually used extra thick raisin toast for this, which made it even better.

Grain roll with spinach, avocado tempeh & cheeze

I am pretty much the Queen of the epic breakfast sandwich. In this case I wasn’t making it to ease a hangover but use up some leftovers, so half a grain roll with sliced, fried Tempeh with Tofutti American cheeze slices on a bed of baby spinach and avocado. Not bad for something thrown together and has a good mix of carbs & protein. Would prefer it with tomato or some other Vitamin C to help absorb the iron from the spinach.

One of my breakfast phases was wholegrain porridge, with various topping from maple syrup to fruit compote to walnuts & banana, but in this case I had stewed apple and sunflower seeds. It’s a great start to winter and for summer just have fresh apple on untoasted muesli and it’s pretty much the same.

Waffles!

My waffle iron comes with a recipe book that has a bunch of different mixtures which are all easily Veganized.  Serve with fresh fruit & maple syrup and it’s easy to impress a guest or yourself. My waffle iron is Sunbeam brand (I think) and they retail for around $20-50 depending on which model you get.

Facon, avocado, tomato, mushroom & toast

Breakfast fry-ups are something I share with my brother B, except he has eggs and bacon, I have tofu & facon, everything else is pretty much the same. If we can be bothered we get hash browns too. An awesome weekend breakfast, or put it all in a sandwich (except the mushrooms, really) or a bagel (maybe add cheeze and tomato sauce) and have an epic breakfast sandwich!

Now try and tell me that I am missing out on awesome breakfasts, eh? I get to have healthy breakfast, hearty breakfasts AND treat breakfasts. I never feel like I’m missing out. Ever.

What’s your favourite breakfast? What do you actually end up having most days?

It’s no secret that I absolutely adore The Gasometer Hotel. The menu has carnivorous, omnivorous and herbivorous options! Vegan, vegetarian and gluten free are all taken care of. The staff know which beers/ciders in stock are Vegan and double check whether you want a Vegan meal on all the menu items where it’s an option, they also have separate fryers and chopping boards and everything. The food is amazing and the atmosphere is great, but what really wins me over is the propensity for hot, tattooed, alternative people to gather there in groups. It’s like Windsor people but in Collingwood!

I’ve been there plenty of times but not nearly enough. I haven’t tried everything on the menu yet (and now they’ve changed it, drat!), and rarely have room for dessert. It’s still heavenly though.

Seitan ribs with beet & carrot salad, mac & cheeze

Oh yes, I hipstergrammed it. How’s about Seitan ribs with sides of Mac & Cheeze and beetroot salad? These ribs are possibly one of my most favourite meals ever. They taste just like any other ribs but without the greasy, stringy, animal bony bits. Seitan is quite filling though, so after this meal and a couple of beers, it’s almost impossible to fit dessert in. The mac & cheeze is more mac with olive oil and cheeze on top, it’s not cheezy all the way through, which is a shame but fairly inconsequential. Comfort food at it’s finest.

Chopped salad, leftover fries & pumpkin pie

The multi-talented and super organised Carla from Easy as Vegan Pie organised Veg*n drinks and the Radical ladies from the grocery store of the same superlative attended, as did the ever so lovely Marieke Hardy who I shared a mutual appreciation of lipstick shade with. Determined to actually fit in a slice of pumpkin pie with gingerbread ice cream, I elected to share the communal fries and ordered the chopped salad. Probably not quite enough food but I got pumpkin pie so I was happy. I love pumpkin pie a lot, and it is rare that I actually get to have it. The chopped salad was awesome too, just what I wanted and would be perfect in Summer.

Vegan Southern Fried Chicken burger

This isn’t actually my Southern Fried “Chicken” burger, but it’s a better picture than the one I actually ate. This is V’s burger, with the chipotle dressing and pickle which I was going to steal and then forgot because I was too busy with my Seitan ribs (not the ones you saw before either, but the ones below). The Forbidden Fruit apple cider that he ordered to go with said burger isn’t Vegan, just so you know. Probably an isinglass thing, which is pretty common. The burger is pretty amazing though, and is definitely one of my favourites. It even made the Top 5 burgers list in The Age newspaper.

Seitan ribs with greens & jalapeno cornbread

I had to order the ribs again, it was just necessary. They were different though. The sides weren’t in the cute dishes, which is okay, I can deal with that, but the ribs looked more like brownies that had been cut out of a big loaf instead of like the individual ribs I had last time. So loss of points for presentation unfortunately. They still tasted amazing and the cornbread was ace as well. The greens (browns) were pretty average though. I will still to salady sides from now on.  I didn’t have room for the new pumpkin pie sundae which was a shame because I thought I should probably try something on the new menu. I will be back for you, pumpkin pie sundae!

So yes, I absolutely adore The Gasometer Hotel, I love that they have Growler on tap and the bartender with the moustache who is absolutely rad. I don’t really love that Smith St is two tram trips away from my house but everything else is great. I need to go back and try the pulled “pork” roll and also order from the starters menu because I haven’t even touched it.

The Gasometer Hotel - Gasometer on Facebook - 484 Smith Street, Collingwood, ph: (03) 9417 5538.

More about The Gasometer: Vegan About Town, Easy as Vegan Pie; In The Mood For Noodles  and Where’s The Beef?

1. Favorite non-dairy milk?
I haven’t experimented a lot with non-dairy milks but soy and almond have been great so far, especially the low fat varieties.

2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning/planned to cook?
Pumpkin/pecan pie, candy corn, seitan.

3. Topping of choice for popcorn?
Nothing.. or sea salt! Or caramel, possibly with crushed nuts… Lolly Gobble Bliss Bombs anyone?

 4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?
Once I made bread and mixed up the salt & sugar. Even though it tasted like Playdough I drowned it in jam and ate it anyway because I was too proud to admit defeat.

5. Favorite pickled item?
Dill pickles and ginger! Also the Japanese side-dish pickles. Also the pickles in burgers and cocktail onions and beetroot… umm… a lot?

 6. How do you organize your recipes?
I don’t. I have a couple of books, a few bookmarks and a few magazines but that’s it. I’m not a big recipe person.

7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal?
I live in an apartment and we have rubbish and recycling collection only. I had an incident with an Insinkerator once I don’t want to talk about.

8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods…what would they be (don’t worry about how you’ll cook them)?
Wholemeal bagels, Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese and Tropical Fruit Salad (hah! cheated)

 9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?
Being at a party and eating too many lollies, then the amazement on the host parents’ face when I shyly asked if they had any carrots. Love my veg!

10. Favorite vegan ice cream?
The best I have access to is Tofutti cuties. They’re awesome. Dying to try Coconut Bliss though, I found something similar and it wasn’t vegan, although it was dairy & egg free. Ugh.

11. Most loved kitchen appliance?
My Starbuck’s 4 cup filtered coffee machine. Followed closely by the George Forman grill at my parents’ house (until I manage to steal it) and my waffle iron.

12. Spice/herb you would die without?
The powdered vegetable stock with the bits in it. I forget what it’s called. Also the Japanese chilli powder with black sesame seeds.

13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time?
Probably my Donna Hay cookbooks.

14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?
Strawberry or Raspberry. Boring, I know.

15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend?
I have a few that I like to “Surprise, it’s Vegan!” people with, I try to make different things each time.

16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh?
Seitan because I don’t understand it so it’s a treat food for me. Then tempeh because it’s so hearty, then tofu, but I love them all.

17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?
Breakfast! I love breakfast foods. Nothing like a big ol’ veggie fry up, or pancakes, waffles, epic breakfast bagels, porridge, etc…

18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?
An Oreo branded mini basketball backboard & net that fell off the side.

19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.
A half full bottle of vodka, frozen vegetables and wholemeal pizza bases. Oh, and bread.
Here’s a photo I prepared earlier… I actually had a photo of my freezer contents in my phone, so there. What of it.

20. What’s on your grocery list?
Literally, from the list in my pocket; Bagels, new toothbrush, kitty litter, coat hangers, salad, vegetables, peanut butter, tempeh/tofu, beans in cans, mozzarella Cheezly, Better Than Cream Cheese, coffee, filter papers, kitten food, soy milk.

21. Favorite grocery store?
Habib Wholefoods, Radical Grocery, Macro Wholefoods (gone now), Thomas Dux

22. Name a recipe you’d love to veganize, but haven’t yet.
Heaps of stuff form Donna Hay, I can’t even choose. Turducken might happen one day. Ha.

23. Food blog you read the most (besides Isa’s because I know you check it everyday). Or maybe the top 3?
Actually I don’t read Isa’s. I think that calls for a #badvegan? To make up for it, you may have my Top 5. If y’all would like to recommend me more, go for it.
Easy As Vegan Pie
Vegan Crunk
Carrie on Vegan
Where’s The Beef?
JL Goes Vegan

24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate?
Red Vines.

25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?
I bought Kale chips (1 bag for $7.50 or 2 for $10), but I’ve been poor & conservative lately so my protein shake tub, even at the price I get it for is probably the most.

26. Ingredients you are scared to work with?
I’m scared to make seitan, but I’ll get there. Nutritional yeast (the work “nooch” creeps me out), probably agar as well.

Now, back to the food…

So far this month on HPG, you have seen;

Introducing VeganMoFo & Ocsober - HPG does #VeganMoFo 2011 & a bunch of other stuff
The first weekend of Ocsober & my meal plan - Not drinking is rad, and other weekend updates.
Trying the Vegie Bar’s raw menu items - A little late to the raw party
Mister Nice Guy cupcakes fan post - A Nice Guy stole my heart
Shopping and eating at the markets - Victoria Market organics and lunch at Invita
Cooking from my favourite book - Veganomicon: Pineapple cashew quinoa stir-fry
Blog round up from week 1 – The best of #VeganMoFo so far…
Gallivanting around Brunswick St – Gosh, is that the time? You can’t take a weekend off anymore
I admit I might have a small problem –  Hey Hombre! Soy adicta a la comida Mexicana…
Self explanatory - The lazy… er… busy Vegan’s guide to quick dinners
Getting a bit experimental –  Veganomicon: Cholent and Pistachio & Rosewater cookies
Ode to this Vegan favourite  - Who needs pizza delivered when you can make it!

That’s already 12 VeganMoFo posts! What’s been your favourite so far?

There was a delivery error at work recently and I scored a bunch of thin wholemeal pizza bases. When we had a “Girls watching the Footy” night, I made pizzas and sweet potato fries and we drank Sailor Jerry & dry. Yum! The pizza was pumpkin purée, with soy cheese and rosemary, baked in the oven and then topped with fresh roquette (arugula). It was pretty awesometown. I was a bit inspired by the Organico pizza at Lucky Coq/Bimbo Deluxe which was my favourite but since I found out they use the brand of soy cheese that still contains rennet, I haven’t gone back for it.

Pumpkin, rosemary & mini-chol with roquette

The next one I made got interrupted, as I had oven issues (like learning how to use it) and then my lift to my dance workshop arrived just as the timer went off, so we ended up sharing it after class. I used a plain tomato and basil pasta sauce as a base and put spinach, mushrooms, red capsicum, tomatoes, olives, pine nuts and crumbled Cheezly over the top. It was heaven post workout. I grabbed a photo before I put it in the oven but because I turned the oven off and ran out the door, it wasn’t as photo-fresh when I got back. Still amazing to eat though.

Before it went into the oven

 Here’s my most recent creation – leftovers pizza. Which I feel is pretty much what pizza was invented for anyway, right? It collected pumpkin purée, zucchini, eggplant,  red capsicum, broccoli, vegie roast, red onion and mini-chol soy cheese. Loved it. Actually found it so filling that I could only eat half, even post-run. I took two slices to a friend to prove I can cook/assemble and two slices to go with my lunch salad the next day. Really happy with how it turned out. I’m a bit fussy with organizing my toppings though, I’d hate to have someone watch me and think I have OCD. Hah.

Leftovers pizza

I also made a garlic pizza last weekend using Nuttelex, garlic and mixed herbs and then just cut it into small triangles and served in a bowl as an afternoon snack with my housemate & guests. So quick & easy. I’m definitely going to keep some bases in my freezer now that I’ve used them a few times with great results. The ones I use are Bazaar Wholemeal bases. Bazaar make individual serve bases as well but I haven’t seen them in wholemeal yet. I tend to eat a whole pizza anyway because it’s mainly vegetables. Just keep me away from the garlic bread, I will inhale that stuff!!

What’s your favourite pizza topping?

Matzoh ball soup, latkes, borscht, challah, bagels… I love Jewish food. I have a kind of unexplained affinity with the Jewish culture given that I have no blood connection to it, but I did go to shul for a little while when I was trying to find my faith, and a lot of the principles followed made sense to me. The food was a pretty big draw-card, bagels with Better Than Cream Cheese (might be what I’m eating right now, maybe) are definitely in my favourite breakfasts list. I wanted to make something hearty, that would yield leftovers and allow for more time chatting and less time preparing but still be impressive enough to serve a guest. Cue Veganomicon! Plus, checking off a couple more recipes in my quest to make everything in this book. Cholent is the Shabbat stew, slow cooked for 12 hours and eaten for lunch.

Cholent (from Veganomicon)
serves 6

Veganomicon Cholent on cous cous

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp tarragon
1 tsp caraway seeds (or 1/4 tsp fennel seeds/rye seeds)
1 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 cup red cooking wine, water or vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup French lentils, rinsed
1 cup peeled, sliced carrots (about 1/2″ thick)
4 medium sized potatoes, peeled and diced.
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce (I used crushed/pureed tomatoes)
3 cups water
1 cup TVP chunks (I used Sanitarium casserole pieces)
1 cup frozen or canned and drained lima beans (I used peas)
1 15 ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

In a large soup pot heat the oil over medium heat
Saute the onion until translucent.
Add the garlic, tarragon, caraway seeds, salt and pepper
Saute until the garlic is fragrant
Deglaze the pot with the red wine (or water/veg broth…)
Add the bay leaves, lentil, carrots, potatoes, tomato sauce, water and TVP chunks
Bring to a boil then cover and simmer 30 minutes until the carrots and potatoes are tender
Add the beans and simmer until the stew has thickened and the beans are heated through.

I served the Cholent with cous cous and added extra vegetables to leftovers for another meal. Super tasty! Then for dessert I got a little bit fancy…

Pistachio & Rosewater Apricot cookies/ice-cream sandwiches

Not the most attractive picture ever, sorry.

Suggested ingredients:
1¼ cups sugar
½ cup canola oil
3 Tbsp. rice or soy milk
1 Tbsp. rosewater (didn’t have this)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 tsp. finely grated lime zest
¼ cup cornstarch (cornflour)
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder (didn’t have this as far as I can recall)
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground cardamom
½ cup shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped

I added:
1/2 cup dried apricots, diced

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two cookie sheets with vegan shortening or margarine.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, rice or soy milk, rosewater, vanilla, lime juice, and zest. Add the cornstarch and whisk until dissolved. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and cardamom. Mix well.
3. Roll the dough into balls about 2 teaspoons in size (a bit smaller than a walnut) and dip the tops into the chopped pistachios. Press down with two fingers; the dough will flatten a bit and the pistachios will collect on the bottom (actually, I mixed the pistachios and the chopped apricots in with everything… lazy)
4. Place the cookies, nut side up, about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. You should be able to fit 16 on a standard baking sheet. Bake for 13 minutes; they will be soft but will firm up as they cool.
5. Remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheets for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely before serving

Or, sandwich two cookies together with a layer of So Good Chocolate Bliss and then put in the freezer on a lined tray until ready to serve. Beware as the cookies tend to get a bit harder in the freezer. But the dough itself was so tasty that a lot of it didn’t even make it into the oven. They were really, really good though. I want to try them again with the proper ingredients but the pistachio, apricot and lime flavour combination was absolutely divine.

This is what they should have looked like - from nothanksimavegan.com

As I write this (it’s 11pm Tuesday night, scheduling post for tomorrow) I am eating Nutolene out of the can with a butter knife as I got home hungry from work at 10pm and my cat got out for the 8th time in the last few days. Once I found her I realised I don’t really have any food in the house because tomorrow is pay day, and I wasted a good half  an hour on Facebook and looking at school photos of rappers to cheer myself up. I’m not sure how I got there because originally I had just clicked through from Facebook once I had discovered this song, which is amazing…

Anyway, even though tonight is a terrible example of what I have for dinner, to be fair I cooked a tofu, shiitake & vegetable stir fry and put it with brown rice to take for work dinner except I ate it for afternoon tea. I know that people sometimes think that it’s time-consuming to eat well but I am a prime example of how that statement is complete BS. Apart from my Mexican problem, which we discussed earlier, I pretty much cook dinner for myself every night. Here’s a few ideas for people who might be struggling, keeping in mind it’s the tail-end of winter here in Melbourne…

Tofu, mushroom & veg stir-fry on brown rice

Chop up some tofu and marinade – I use mushroom soy, mirin & sesame oil, then chop and cook vegetables or use frozen stir-fry mix, add fresh mushrooms – I use shiitake, add tofu & cook until vegetables are tender. I made a batch of brown rice at the start of the week and just heated it up as I needed it. Much quicker that way. Or try the microwave 90 sec sachets from the supermarket.

Spinach & facon in a tomato sauce on wholemeal & vegetable spirals

This was a bit leftovers – jar sauce with the addition of frozen chopped spinach, diced facon strips and I think some Cheezly mozzarella style as well. I use a combination of wholemeal and vegetable spirals for fibre & colour.

Shiitake & greens on udon

This can be a dry or soup dish with the addition of vegetable stock. I boiled dry udon, diced up vegetables and shiitake and cooked them lightly in sesame oil & mirin, then added the cooked udon. The red sprinkle is Nanami, Japanese mixed spice. Could also add tofu, tempeh, or any mock meat and even use frozen vegetable mix for this. I use vegetable stock when cooking the udon, then add the cooked vegetables & mushrooms to that.

Mac'n'veg'n'Cheezly

Possibly one of my favourite quick & easy comfort foods ever. Whilst cooking small pasta, make a white sauce using the traditional method but Nuttelex/Earth Balance instead of butter to melt; make a paste with the flour and add non-dairy milk to create a white sauce, season to taste. Then grate a heap of mozzarella-style Cheezly into it and add the cooked pasta an vegetables and heat through. Do not eat it straight out of the  saucepan (okay, do).

Leftover Cholent on macaroni

I made Cholent from Veganomicon and then just added a few extra vegies that were lying around and had it on top of macaroni. It was pretty baller. I’ll put the Cholent recipe up soon, I kinda forgot I made it.

Fried tempeh salad for two

My bestie G’s first foray into tempeh – she was not a fan, maybe when it’s marinated because I love the taste but I know it’s not for everyone. Bonus tempeh for me! Fried it, added it to spinach, cucumber, canned corn, red capsicum and kumatoes with a grainy roll. Dressed to taste. Quick & fresh! Another chapter in my “Forcing Friends To Eat…” series; Salad!

So I work two jobs, which means 6 days a week, plus I take 3 or more dance classes a week and try to fit in cardio, studying and a social life into the rest of those days. Just a little bit busy… Consequently, I often have dinners which consist of leftovers, or meals that are easy to put together. So long as I have a jar of pasta sauce, beans, rice/pasta and frozen vegetables I can eat a balanced meal. Making it a more interesting is where the problem lies. Noodle soups, stir-fries, pasta dishes, one-pot dishes and basic vegetable+protein+sauce combinations tend to get a lot of use. So does ye olde “pick up a burrito on the way home”, depending on my budget. I also eat dinner at work a couple of nights a week so leftovers and rice+whatever work well for dinner out of plastic containers.

These meals probably prove my ability to a) budget and b) eat balanced meals but don’t show c) that I’m actually quite a good cook! I want to save those photos for other posts but I’ll leave you with this quick dinner I made for when I had a friend over for dinner – we were planning to go and play pool afterward and I wanted to make lasagne so I would have leftovers but forgot I didn’t have my Pyrex dish after I moved house so it became this… free form lasagne, I guess. cooked the sheets in a wide shallow pan, roasted vegetables – capsicum, zucchini, eggplant, portobello & toasted pine nuts, heated a jar sauce, layered sheets, sauce, veg & topped with olive tapanade.

Free form roasted vegetable & portobello lasagne with olive tapenade & toasted pine nuts. Chyeah.

So just because you’re short on time, it doesn’t mean you have an excuse to eat crappy meals. I place fast food, microwave meals and most take-away in this category. Whilst I spent more time on my lunches, entertaining and weekend meals, I like to think that I put enough effort into refuelling my body all the other times as well. I’ll post some of my breakfasts and lunches later on in the month. Enjoy your day!

Do you have any other ideas for quick, balanced, Vegan evening meals?

The first seed that got planted was probably when I found the Vegan Quesadilla recipe in Skinny Bitch and decided that maybe Mexican food didn’t have to be the sludgy cheese & sour cream-fest that I thought it was. This became a semi-regular meal option for me because it was so easy. The combination of tortillas, kidney beans, avocado, salsa and vegan cheese was way too exciting, and given I generally had all the inside ingredients, I just had to get tortillas from my local grocer and bang, instant comfort food.

Then I discovered the Vegie-packed bowl at Salsa’s in Westfield Doncaster after a pole session with one of my besties. She was raving about Salsa’s and after I tried this menu item, I was sold. It had frijoles, onion & capsicum, broccoli & zucchini, salsa, salsa fresca, guacamole, coriander & lime rice and I just ordered it without cheese or ranch sauce. Amazing. Pretty much everything you look for in a Vegan meal – carbohydrates, protein, good fats, vegetables and enough food to actually fill you sufficiently.

Vegie packed bowl at Salsa's

Living in Richmond with a guy friend meant plenty of weekends scoping out pre- & post-drinking semi-healthy meals. Taco Bill lured me in with fishbowl margaritas and the Vegetarian Combinacion but after I stopped eating dairy completely, they had much less to offer. Ensalada Verde with a side of frijoles and corn chips with salsa is pretty good for a light meal, or build your own with sides of tortillas, salsa, frijoles & guacamole, unless they have the Vegetarian Fajita on the specials board. That sizzling plate is boss. We ended up going to Taco Bill and Mexicali Rose (a slightly further but better quality option) for work lunches and I started to come around.

Vegie packed Burrito at Salsa's

Meanwhile, a new restaurant opened in Melbourne called Mamasita. No bookings, just rock up and hope to get a seat – but the wait is worth it! A few of us went to try their quesadilla and the well-priced meals and amazing food impressed us greatly, their traditional Mexican menu meant Old El Paso was left well behind in distant memories and replaced with Tostaditas, real Tacos with all sorts of fillings and amazing ‘Comida para la familia’, plus proper Mexican beers and heaps of Veganizable menu options. In fact, last time I went with my brother earlier this year, the waitress was sad that she hadn’t known ahead of time that I was Vegan to offer extra appetiser options. Bless!

Tostada's at Mamasita

In Adelaide I was already seeking out somewhere to get some Mexican flavours while I was over for a conference, and fell in love with Zambrero. Basically, I walked in and they were playing Dashboard Confessional and when I told the server that I’m Vegan he said “no problem!” and told me everything I could and couldn’t eat, wrapped me up a huge burrito and I sat quite happily enjoying a lunch beer and burrito with my happy face on. Then I realised I was hooked… I started searching for a “Fresh Mex” place near me and campaigned Salsa’s to open a store near my house in Richmond. It happened, after I moved to Camberwell. D’oh.

Naked burrito at Mad Mex

But I found Mad Mex, an awesome place to get a ‘naked burrito’ near work (I sit and enjoy a Jarrito soft drink and perve on hot tattooed skaters, it’s Windsor, come on), Salsa’s is still near the studio that I train in, and Taco Bill is near my house in case I really need a fix. But Mamasita is definitely a must-visit when anyone is here from out of town… or just because.

Vegie fajita at Taco Bill

Now, I’m quite happy to admit that Mexican cuisine is my favourite, especially since my previous favourite, Japanese, is so heavy with seafood products and Buddhist Japanese cuisine is a lot harder to find… so that is part of the reason why I’m more interested in travelling to the US and Mexico now than before, when I was all about going to Japan and eating for two weeks and why I love reading all of your blogs about Taco Trucks (hola, Seabirds!), empanadas and cornbread. Plus, playing the computer game Grim Fandango has left me obsessed with Dia de los Muertos, which doesn’t help. I’ve even realised my salads get pretty Mexinspired too…

I was trying to get photos for this post but there are so many pictures of burritos and Mexi-salads and vegie bowls it’s getting silly. Yes, my name is Ceri and I’m a Mexi-holic.

Salsa’s – www.salsas.com.au
Taco Bill – www.tacobill.com.au
Mamasita – www.mamasita.com.au – 1/11 Collins St, Melbourne, ph: (03) 9650 3821
Zambrero – www.zambrero.com
Mad Mex –  www.madmex.com.au

Also… Trippy Taco on Smith St, which I haven’t listed here because for some reason I had no photos… it’s all Vegan and it’s amazing. They even have Vegan dessert quesadillas. Go.