Curry-Style Pastries

Flakey pastry and yummy, vege, curry-style innards. Make your mouth water? The bonus is - it's healthy too! You're going to love these pastries I made today!

INGREDIENTS
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 med potatoes, diced
1 carrot, diced
1C cooked chickpeas
1C frozen peas
1/2C coconut cream
1C tomato puree
3t salt
1t fenugreek
2t turmeric
1t cumin

METHOD
1. Saute onion and garlic in a little oil until onions are clear.
2. Add potatoes and carrot. Cover, and cook till tender.
3. Add remaining ingredients and leave to cool.
4. Make into triangle pastries by cutting a sheet of (bought) pastry in quarters, spooning a little mixture into the middle and folding the pastry into a triangle. Seal the edges by pressing on them with a folk.
5. Bake in the oven until golden brown.

Country Cabbage Soup

So I know it's summer and summer's not really the time we like to eat soup very often, but personally, I love soups. A few months ago while Mum was away and we had more cabbages in the garden then we could poke a stick at, I came across a 'French Cabbage Soup' recipe on the internet. I made it again for tonight and I changed the recipe a little and though I'd share it. I apologise in advance for the dodgy pictures! :)

Country Cabbage Soup

Ingredients

2 cups      onion, diced

2 cups      carrot, diced

2 cups      zucchini, diced

2 cups      potato, diced

4 cups      cabbage, diced

4 litres     chicken stock (approx.)

1/2 cup    flour

1/3 cup    olive oil

salt to taste

mixed herbs to taste

Method

1. make a 'white roux' with the flour and oil by mixing together in a saucepan and simmering for 3-5 minutes stirring regularly.
2. combine remaining ingredients in a large stock-pot and cook until vege's are soft.
3. stir in 'white roux' and season with salt and herbs to taste.
4. simmer to combine flavours and serve.

Recipe Book

So I've thought for many years that I should create a recipe book but never got around to it. Lately it's been wooshing around in my brain again and I've been thinking I'll do a specialty one. How about "The Ultimate Vegan Polenta Recipe Book"?
Anyone got thoughts?

Also, does anyone have a recipe they'd like to see me have a go at?

Polenta Pizza Stacks

Finally! This recipe is down. I made it again last night and WOW it was a WINNER! And it'll be a winner in your family too I'm sure.

I must apologise though at the lack of a recipe for the Sun-Dried Tomato Paste. I kinda got carried away and threw it all in before I had a chance to measure. So I've put down an approx. mesurement and it's up to you to use your creativity. And I must say that these would be made perfect with a sprig of rocket laid across the top just before serving.

So go ahead; use your creativity and immagination and see what comes out of this!

(look, my mouth is still watering!)

Polenta Pizza Stacks

Polenta Bases

4C      Polenta (a fine polenta works best)

12C    Water

1/2C   Olive Oil

4 tsp   Salt

2/3C   Savoury Yeast Flakes (optional)

1 Tbs  Vege Stock Powder (optional)

1. Combine the first four ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer until water is absorbed and polenta is well cooked.
2. Take off heat and stir through the Savoury Yeast Flakes and vege stock.
3. Spoon mixture onto a papered cookie sheet and form into bases approx. 12cm in diameter. (I used a mould and that worked awesome.)
4. Set aside to cool. As polenta cools it will harden.
5. (Optional: When bases are hard, turn them upside down and grill the bottoms until golden brown. Turn back the right way again.)

Sun-Dried Tomato Paste

Sun-dried tomatoes (about 1 cup)

Olives (about 10)

Rocket (about 4 leaves)

Parsley (about 2 large stems)

Garlic (about 2 cloves)

Tomato Puree

1. Combine all ingredients except tomato puree in food processor and blend.
2. Add tomato puree until paste becomes an easily spreadable consistency. (Something like pesto)

Topping

1 med     Eggplant, sliced thinly

3 large    Onions, sliced in rings

2             Zucchinis, thinly sliced lengthways (I used a potato peeler that took extra thick peels)

1             Red Capsicum, thinly julienned

               Tofu, thinly sliced (optional)

1. Fry eggplant slices in a little oil with a sprinkle of salt until cooked.
2. Place onions on a papered tray and bake until cooked. (Could probably use the grill)
3. Sauté the capsicum until limp.
4. Heat tofu in a fry pan with a little Braggs if desired.

Put it all together!

1. Spread a spoonful of tomato paste on the bases.
2. Layer a slice of eggplant and a slice of tofu.
3. Curl the long zucchini strips under themselves and place on top of the tofu. (I used approx. 3 per pizza.)
4. Nestle a few juliennes of capsicum on top of the zucchini and top with a ring of onion.
5. To top it off, add some grated soy cheese or a splash of cashew cheese.
6. Place in grill until cheese melts.
7. Enjoy!

Zucchini Slices

Dried-Tomato Paste

Work in Progress

Ready for the Oven!

Yum!

YUM!

YUM!

Pumpkin, Pesto Pasta

We have allot of pumpkins at the moment that need using so while lying awake in my freezing bed last night, I came up with this idea. It sure looks yummo and it tastes it too!

Roasted Pumpkin

12 cups       diced pumpkin (1cm cubes)

1/4 cup        olive oil

1 T              cumin

1 T              paprika

1 T              sea salt

Combine all ingredients and roast in the oven until cooked and crispy.

Pesto

2 cups       parsley (pack it into the cup)

2 cups       cashews

3 large      garlic cloves

1 t             sea salt

2 T            lemon juice

1/2 cup     olive oil

water as needed

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add water as needed to make into a soft paste constancy. (thinner is better then thicker for this recipe because it can be hard to mix through the pasta.)

Cook 750g packet of pasta according to directions

Mix cooked pumpkin and pesto through the pasta and sprinkle a handful of pine nuts on the top.

(could be made gluten free if you used a rice pasta or corn pasta)

Baby Polenta Pizza's

Look yummy? Yeah, thats what I thought too. Mum got these 'egg rings' (I think that's what they are called) the other day and immediately I had this recipe idea. Unfortunately I got halfway through before I realised that I should have been writing the recipe out. So I'll tell ya what I did kinda but if you want the recipe proper, you'll have to wait until I make them again.

• I made a thick, savoury seasoned polenta mixture and spooned it into egg-rings to create the bases.
• I topped it with tomato paste.
• I sautéed onion, capsicum, eggplant and zucchini and put that on top.
• Then I put some grated tofu (optional)
• And soya cheese on the top. 
• Then I just grilled them until the cheese melted.

YUM YUM YUM!!!!

I shall be making these again!

Buckwheat & Rosemary Patties

Ok people, don't read the title; don't read the ingredients; listen to my spiel first. This is one of those Facebook recipes that you see floating around and always think I'm gonna try that someday and never do. Well I've done it for you! I must say, that if it wasn't for the redeeming rosemary flavour, I might have scrapped these but as it is, I think it's an acquired taste that might take a bit of getting used to. But, my brother seemed to think they were pretty good. Ignore the fact that it has buckwheat in it - you can't taste it in the end and really, these are quite healthy!

Buckwheat & Rosemary Patties

1 cup           cooked buckwheat (1/2 cup dry makes a bit over 1 cup)

1/2 cup        rolled oats

1 cup           pecans

1 Tbs           unfermented soy sauce (braggs)

1 tsp            onion powder

1 tsp            garlic powder

2 tsp            salt

2 Tbs          fresh parsley (can used dried)

1 Tbs          fresh rosemary (can used dried)

2 Tbs          fresh thyme (can used dried)

1 tsp            paprika

1 Tbs          yeast flakes

1 Tbs          water

1 Tbs          olive oil

2 tsp           honey

Method

1. combine all ingredients except buckwheat in a food processor and blend until nuts are ground
2. place cooked buckwheat in a bowl and add blended mixture to it
3. mix well (mixture will be quite sticky)
4. form into patties or 'links' and fry in an oiled nonstick frypan until brown