Perfected Baked Veggie Patties

 

Hey Fab Foodies!

Earlier this week I FINALLY created the perfect baked vegan patties.

I honestly can’t tell you how many attempts I have had to try and get the texture and flavour spot on.

I have tried countless recipes for vegan burger/patties but being the perfectionist that I am, I had a vision in my head and I needed to get it right.

It needs to be baked, not fried.

It was essential that the outside was crisp and the inside a little soft, but not like a hummus texture.

It couldn’t crumble if I were to eat it with my fingers straight from the fridge (let’s not pretend we don’t all do this).

And it had to be gluten and preferably oil free.

So I’m so happy that I have perfected the recipe!

Ingredients

½ cup split red lentils

½ a medium sweet potato

1/3 frozen sweet baby peas (Blanched)

¼ cup grated carrot

3 Tbsp finely diced red onion

1 garlic clove minced

1 Tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley

6 Tbsp chickpea flour

1/4 tsp (heaped) cumin

¼ tsp (heaped) cinnamon

¼ tsp dried basil

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Decent pinch of pink Himalayan salt

 

Instructions:
(makes 9 patties)

1. Soak lentils for at least 8 hours
2. Boil lentils until cooked (roughly 15 mins). Then drain.
3. Pre heat oven to 180 degree’s Celsius
4. Peel and dice the sweet potato. Boil it until cooked then drain
5. In a large mixing bowl, roughly mash the sweet potato with a fork
6. Add the lentils into the bowl and combine with the potato
7. Using a paper towel, dry the grated carrot and blanched peas as much as possible to remove excess moisture
8. Mix in the rest of the ingredients, except the chickpea flour
9. 2 Tbsp at a time mix in the chickpea flour
10. Mould mixture into small palm size patties and place onto baking paper
11. Place in oven until golden brown ( roughly 15-20 mins)

 

I served this with my usual delicious salad which had the lot; Avo, beetroot, zucchini, snow peas, red capsicum and sauerkraut.

I’m so glad I didn’t settle until I got the recipe just right!

I’m sure you will love them as much as I do.

Question: Are you a perfectionist when it comes to cooking?

What’s one dish that took you a while to perfect?

 

Be kind to yourself,

Lisa x

 

Asian Inspired Cos Cups

I have noticed that the only vegan Asian dish I have cooked is sushi. That’s it!
Sad I know, but that is all about to change.

Other than the basic stir-fry, I’m not very familar with vegan Asian meals.

The reason I haven’t cooked many Asian meals is because of the pressure I once put on myself. I am a bit of a perfectionist, and not having the experience with certain techniques and exotic ingredients, I haven’t been confident enough to try making them.

There are many flavoursome salads and cooked meals waiting for me to make, and practice makes perfect so I am going to start veganising popular Asian favourites.

I created this recipe that was inspired from san choy bow.
I used ingredients that I already on hand and would be somewhat similar to the recipe I once used before I was vegan.

I tweaked this dish from the first time I made it and now it’s spot on!

The flavours complement each other beautifully and it only took me 20 mins to make.

This is a perfect entree or as it turned out for me, a main meal. I couldn’t stop at two cups so I had 5 cups for dinner.

Addictive – you have been warned.

 

Ingredients

( Roughly makes 10 cups – serves 2-3 )

150g organic tempeh

1 cup sliced button mushrooms

1/3 red capsicum

5 bok choy stalks

Cos lettuce leaves

2 Tbsp low sodium tamari sauce

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/8 Tsp grated ginger

Directions

1. Peel mushrooms and wash all vegetables
2. Finely cut mushrooms, capsicum and tempeh in small cubes roughly the same size
3. Finely slice bok choy horizontally
4. Place all sliced vegetables and tempeh into a mixing bowl
5. Mix tamari, balsamic vinegar and ginger in a small cup and poor over the vegetables and tempeh
6. Transfer mixture into a non stick fry pan and cook until mushrooms and bok choy and soft
7. Serve into cos lettuce leaves

I’d love to know your favourite Asian dish!

Be kind to yourself,

Lisa x

Red Lentil & Sweet Potato “Hummus”

The unimaginable happened last week: I ran out of chickpeas.

It felt unnatural, traumatic and impossible for me not have any chickpeas in the house, but it’s true.

I imagine most vegans feel the same way.  Chickpeas are a delicious staple in vegan diet and are extremely versatile.

In a way, I’m glad I ran out of them because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t have made this wickedly creamy “hummus”.

I started to look for recipes online but most comments on red lentil hummus were “bland” or “I prefer the original” so I decided to make my own recipe. The most popular comments of all were in regard to calling it a hummus.

Traditional hummus is made from chickpeas, ground sesame seeds, lemon and olive oil. The majority of people know this.

Although substituting red lentils for chickpeas doesn’t technically classify it as a hummus, I still refer to this recipe as a “hummus” because it automatically informs people of the basic ingredients used in the dip.

The reaction towards the naming issue amazed me. I understand that people love their hummus; I too think extremely highly of the chickpea but for it to cause an issue other than having none left, took me by surprise.

I searched for other similar comments towards food substitutes such as, banana nice-cream and cauliflower “rice” but no one questioned their name. Just the hummus.

I think the lesson here is to never underestimate the passion one has for hummus, and secondly if you substitute chickpeas for another bean or lentil always use inverted comers when calling it a hummus. When saying it out loud perhaps curl to figures in the air (like Doctor Evil in Austin Powers) to save you from this dilemma. Or better still just say this thing is freaking awesome; because it is.

Ingredients

½ cup red lentils (uncooked)

1 small sweet potato (or half a large)

3Tb tahini

1 garlic clove

¼ cup lemon juice

Pinch of salt (I used Pink Himalayan)

Directions

1. Soak lentils for 6-8 hours.
2. Rinse the split peas and transfer into a saucepan with the chopped sweet potato and boil for 15-20 mins.
3. Once cooked, drain and give it a quick rinse with cold water.
4. While the split peas and potato are still warm transfer them into the food processor and give it a quick mix. It’s important to do this while they are warm because this how you get a creamy consistency.
5. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until it is completely mixed through.
   You may need to add some water or olive oil if you want a thinner consistency.
6. Store in an air tight container for 4-5 days.

This “hummus” (please note the inverted comers used) is anything but bland. I also found that using red split peas made it creamier and smoother.

I’m positive you all will love it!

Be kind to yourself,

Lisa x

Pumpshrooms

When I first decided to go vegan, Pumpshrooms was the first recipe I created. Since then this dish has been served to many guests and become a regular meal of mine.

I created Pumpshrooms (pumpkin stuffed mushrooms) on a night when a few friends were coming over. I wanted to show them how easy, inexpensive and how seriously tasty vegan meals can be.

I cook this dish at least once a week and I love serving them to friends and guests as they always compliment me on how delicious they are.

I love pumpkin the way others love chocolate; I can’t seem to get enough! If we had to get technical, I’d say Kent Pumpkin is my favourite because it’s sweeter than other types and stays moist when roasted.

What really makes these Pumpshrooms stand out is the velvet texture of the pumpkin puree.

To create this texture you will need to use a high speed blender or hand stick blender. I have tried this recipe with all different types of pumpkin, but Kent pumpkin created the perfect texture.

Ingredients

2 Portobello mushrooms

300g-400g Pumpkin (Kent if available)

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1Tb raw walnuts

Directions

1. Turn oven on to 180 degree C
2. Slice pumpkin 2cm thick and place on a tray and transfer into the oven
3. Peel mushrooms and remove the stem
4. Once pumpkin is cooked through, blend pumpkin with a hand blender or high speed blender
5. Spread pumpkin evenly into the mushrooms
6. Sprinkle walnuts and cinnamon on top
7. Place mushrooms back into the hot oven and cook for roughly 10 mins

I absolutely love this dish and I’m sure you will too. It’s everything I look for in a recipe; simple, inexpensive, quick and most importantly delicious!

I’d love to know what your first meal you created was in the comments below!

Lisa x

Perfect Pumpkin Sushi

It was only about six years ago when sushi started to become popular in Australia and now it seems to be a craze similar to McDonald’s; there’s a sushi store on every corner.

Unlike McDonald’s though, I could eat sushi for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
It has become a staple in my diet as I am very time poor and health conscious, so I have figured sushi is a perfect option for me.

However, every time I finished my sushi rolls I was craving something sweet.  I was never fully satisfied until I had some fresh or dried fruit to cure my sugar craving. I always eat fruit after my meals but the difference is that I now choose it eat it, I don’t feel like I absolutely need it.

After I became aware of the hidden ingredients in sushi purchased in a store, I wasn’t surprised why I craved sugar after I ate it.

Apart from the obvious fried foods that can be added into the rolls, when the sticky rice is being boiled, sugar is added into the water so the rice is sweeter and becomes moreish, making you want more of it.
Another hidden ingredient that goes into the rice is mayonnaise. Mayonnaise is squeezed into the chef’s hands before smoothing down the rice onto the nori sheet, which contains more sugar, fat, additives and animal products.

So the once thought healthy sushi roll turn out to be a great marketing scam to make us believe we are doing ourselves a health favour, but unless you are making sushi rolls yourself, they aren’t healthy or beneficial to you at all.

So today I am sharing with you my favourite sushi recipe using raw cauliflower rice in place of the usual sticky rice so you have the added benefits of adding more raw foods into your meals and also because cauliflower is delicious, versatile and an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin K and folate.

Ingredients

1 cup cauliflower rice

1/3 cup mashed pumpkin (cold)

¼ avocado

2 tbsp grated carrot

1-2 long strip of red capsicum

1 nori sheet

Organic Tamari sauce

Instructions
Makes 1 roll

1. Process cauliflower in a food processor until it becomes a similar texture/size to rice.
2. Mix mashed pumpkin into the cauliflower and set aside ready to start rolling and prepare the rest of the vegies.
3. Place nori sheet onto the bamboo mat with smooth side facing down and smooth 1 cup of the rice mixture onto the sheet leaving a ¼ of the sheet furthest away from you without any “rice” on it as well as a small gap at the front of your sheet
4. Press rice mixture down firmly and add the rest of the ingredients onto centre on the sheet
   
5. Take the side of the mat closest you and gently roll to the edge of the “rice” and gently press roll together.
6. Wet the a thin strip at the edge of the roll to seal together
7. Slice sushi using a very sharp knife
8. Dip sushi slices into tamari sauce if desired

A lot people get turned off by the thought of eating raw cauliflower so by adding pumpkin to the cauliflower “rice” it eases you into the idea of have a completely raw sushi. Also pumpkin is just so delicious why not add it into as many dishes as possible!

Question for the day:
What is the most versatile vegetable you use?

Lisa

Eggplant Pizzas

The popular term “meat and 3 veg” doesn’t relate to me at all, not just because I am vegan but because I never understood why someone would serve just 3 types of vegetables.
I eat a very colourful diet to ensure I am getting a variety of nutrients with every meal so to think of just limiting the popular side of vegetables to just 3 doesn’t interest me at all.

Although the fridge is always stocked with fresh fruit and vegetables the purple shade vegetables aren’t always a staple.
Eggplant is one vegetable in the nightshade family that I love. Its glossy, beautiful pigmented skin, its versatility and its potent source of antioxidants plus a great scavenger for free radicals how can you not love eggplant!?
The other day while I was thinking of a new dish to create using eggplant for dinner I asked my mother why we never ate it growing up. She said she wasn’t keen on the vegetable and it was easier to get us to eat the common veggies that we knew (probably 3 veg).

I am always inspired to prove to people how eating vegan processed -free meals doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice taste or say goodbye to your favourite cuisines, so when the challenge came to show mum how delicious and easy eggplant is to cook, pizza sounded like a perfect option.

1 Medium Eggplant
2Tbs Tomato paste (salt and chemical free)
Sea Salt
6 Cherry tomato
6 Olives
4 Button mushrooms
¼ Cup raw sweet corn
¼ Cup Green Capsicum (bell pepper)
Dried Basil
Nutritional yeast (optional)

• Cut 6 thin (about 1.5cm width) slices of the eggplant
• Lightly sprinkle sea salt on the eggplant slices to draw out the bitterness and leave for 15 minutes
• Pre heat oven to 180 degrees
• Using a paper towel, remove the sea salt from the eggplant and pat any extra moisture out with the paper towel
• Place eggplant slices onto baking paper and spread tomato paste onto each slice.
•  Dice the remaining vegetables and evenly place onto eggplant slices.
• Lightly sprinkle dried basil over each eggplant pizza
• Place in oven for 20-25 minutes
• (optional)-Once eggplant pizzas are cooked sprinkle some Nutritional Yeast on top to add a nice cheese flavourSure enough this dish was delicious and a very satisfying way to win over a sceptic’s heart.It has the authentic pizza flavours using only natural whole ingredients and topped with a variety fresh vegetables adds a whole lot of colour.

  Along side the Pizza’s I served my Quinoa Tabbouli salad which really left us very satisfied.

Buon appetito.