Archive of ‘Vegetarian’ category

10
Aug
2015

Vegan Chilli Sin Carne Recipe

categories: Recipe, Uncategorized, Vegetarian

Today I wanted to share with you one of my all-time favourite meals that just so happens to be vegan as well as full of nutrients and flavour. This Vegan Chilli Sin Carne (chilli without meat, but sounding way fancier) is one of the few dishes that Edd makes far superior to myself so I force him to make giant pots of the stuff that we can use all week for lunches, burritos, stuffed baked potatoes and more (I’m all for making one big meal that will go a long way).

This chilli is just as flavoursome as the meat version, with a hint of smoked chipotle replacing the meaty flavour but keeping it rich and hearty. Packed with kidney beans, juicy corn and capsicums and the warm heat of chilli and bold, Mexican spices, this vegan chilli is perfection for winter where you want a bowl of filling soul food.

Vegan Chilli Sin Carne

Ingredients

3 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
dash of cinnamon powder (about 1/4 tsp)
1 heaped tsp chopped garlic
2 tsp chopped chilli
1 brown onion diced
1 Tbsp approx chipotle paste/sauce
1 cup of veggie stock
1 big carrot chopped
1 red capsicum
1/2 C sweetcorn
1 can of kidney beans
1 can chilli beans (e.g. Watties chilli beans which are basically kidney beans in a spicy tomato sauce)
1 can chopped tomatoes
fresh coriander and avocado to serve
salt and pepper to taste

This is a giant pot with double the recipe stated here: enough to feed a small army, or two of us for a week.

Method: Vegan Chilli Sin Carne

Fry off the onion, garlic and then the spices in a little oil until onion is soft and the aroma of spices fill the house. Add the chipotle and chilli and fry briefly.
Drain your can of plain kidney beans and if you want to echo the texture of mince, mash these up with a fork until they look suitable (this isn’t required but does thicken up the chilli a little more).
Chuck in your beans, chilli beans, carrots, tomatoes, vegetable stock and simmer for around 15-20 minutes (or longer if you have time and patience to let the flavours develop and the texture thicken).
Make sure you taste at this stage in case you need to add a little more chipotle, a tbsp of brown sugar to sweeten it up, a bit more chilli etc. I tend to taste so much during the cooking process that by the times it’s finished I’m no longer hungry (doesn’t stop me eating :-/)
Add your capsicum and corn and continue to simmer at a medium heat for another 10-15 minutes. Again, the longer you can leave this to develop, the better (it’s one of those dishes that is even more delicious the next day).
Season with salt and pepper to your preference.
Serve this along with some ripe avocado (ours was a little too ripe), freshly torn coriander and enjoy over a bowl of rice, a baked potato, or thrown inside a burrito with some salad! You can top with sour cream and cheese for something a wee bit more indulgent (but no longer vegan), but I promise it’s just as mouth-wateringly tasty without it. We have been enjoying this with a brown rice and lentil combo, usually making a double batch so that we can keep some in the freezer.

This might seem life there are a few steps but it’s actually a straightforward and easy recipe that just involves a little more patience than my usual 5 minute meals, I promise its all worth it.

The beauty of this dish is that its so flexible to your tastes (and what’s lurking in the cupboard waiting to be used). We’ve tried adding brown lentils to bulk it up and include extra protein and this works well however I recommend cooking the lentils separately before hand. We’ve played around with the spices, the types of beans, the veggies we chuck in and it all comes out pretty darn delicious.

I used to eat chilli con carne all the time before becoming vegetarian, so nothing makes me happier than knowing that this delicious spicy stew is even better packed with beans and veggies (and its also an abundant source of protein, as well as a meal that includes all of essential amino acids). Pairing the rich dish with fresh avocado and coriander brings the whole thing to life so I definitely suggest including those (preferably when avocados don’t cost the same as a Starbucks coffee).

If I had to choose a favourite winter meal it would either be this vegan chilli or my easy Indian Dahl. Give this one a go and let me know what you think! Is there anything different that you like to add to your chilli?

A big thanks to Edd who cooks this vegan chilli for me way more than he should have to, and who also took these beautiful photos whilst I was out spending money on brunch.

Have an awesome week guys!

xxx

19
Jul
2015

Vegetarian Takeaways – Living Lazy in Auckland

categories: My Big Little City, Restaurants, Vegetarian

Regardless of whether you are vegetarian or not, sometimes it’s good to know which places have some delicious options for those who want a few more meat-free options! Although I’m all for whipping up delicious meals at home, there are weekends where Edd and I will eat only takeaways and pretend that it’s just to avoid making a mess with dishes. We can be pretty lazy, and so have a few of our favourite vegetarian takeaways!

Asian/Indian

Wok Express – This is a cheap and cheerful, full of flavour takeaway joint that has stores in Ponsonby as well as our local Kingsland. They do everything, from Teriyaki to Thai Curries, Stir Fries and Noodles and everything in between. The variety is great for when there are people over who feel like different things, but its not the most authentic Asian you can find. They do tofu in most of their dishes but also do a fake chicken option for some. Wok Express also do a great range of healthier options, options that are cooked with coconut oil, or dishes with no oil or carbs. Our picks: Teriyaki Tofu and the Green Curry with Tofu (have both to create a confusing yet delicious eating experience).

Soul Thai – If you want good quality, down-right delicious Thai food, Soul Thai is reliably excellent. It’s not the cheapest but you get what you pay for. There are tofu options for most of their dishes and everything always has a really generous amount of vegies. We always end up over-ordering so that we have leftovers the next day. Our picks: Rich red curry and the spicy thai noodles

Both of the above do delivery, which is awesome and automatically means I love them for letting me embrace my inner laziness, but be prepared to wait up to an hour, especially on Friday/Weekend evenings.

Paradise – We are lucky enough to live walking distance from the plethora of incredible Indian restaurants that Sandringham plays host to, a lot of them are 100% vegetarian which is awesome. Despite this, our favourite remains Paradise, which whilst not all vegetarian does have a whole bunch of incredible options for the vegetable/paneer inclined. They’re always ridiculously busy which is a sign of how great their food is, but also means that if possible order before hand to save the wait. Our Pick – Paneer Butter Masala (rich and creamy but still packed with so much flavour) along with a vegetable biryani and a garlic cheese naan! Expect to have leftovers.

Burgers

Burger Wisconsin – Halloumi burger, enough said? This chain isn’t very common around Auckland, but we love the vegetarian options offered at our local Mt Albert store. They have a few different vege-friendly burgers, and also an option to build your own. Our picks – the Vegetarian Delux (satay sauce, falafel and camembert) for Edd and the Halloumi burger for yours truly (with caramelised onions and coriander lime mayo -omg yum).

Burger Fuel – For those who prefer to customise, Burger Fuel not only has a couple of delicious vegetarian patties as well as a tofu option, the website is ideal for creating the most specific customised orders that I’m sure the staff must hate. They also do ridiculously delicious soy shakes for Vegans who miss a good milkshake. Some people think Burger Fuel can be over-rated, I think its delicious, fresh, and worth every cent. Also, their aioli is heaven and I could put it on everything. Our Picks – Customise away and create your perfect burger. Treat yourself to some of their moto-bites and a caramel soy-shake while your at it, and then laugh as your flatmates make themselves dinner.

Murder Burger – There are so many delicious burger places, but I’ll limit myself to 3. Despite the name, Murder Burger do 2 vegetarian options; a falafel patty or a Mexican flavoured bean patty with avocado. Both are full of flavour and the staff are always really friendly. We go to the Dominion Rd store and you never have to wait long for the food. We’ve also never had any mistakes with our orders which is a good thing. Not as much room for obvious customisation with Murder Burger, but I’m sure the staff would be happy to accommodate. Our Pick – The BBB (black bean pattie, roasted red pepers and homemade guac).

Pizza

Hells Pizza – One of the best option for vegetarian/vegan pizza lovers. They not only have delicious vegetarian options like caramelised onion, mushroom and blue cheese, they also have a quorn meat alternative for most of their chicken pizzas. 1 step even better, for those who have successfully managed to cut dairy cheese out of their lives, Hells offer a vegan dairy-free mozarella option, which is pretty awesome. I don’t know what it’s like because cheese still has a rather large place in my heart. They have also just added a delicious range of gelatos, just in case you don’t over-stuff yourself with pizza, wedges and crumbed camembert. Our Pick – Sinister (refried beans, guacamole, jalapenos, salsa etc) with cheese along with some cajun spiced wedges, and finished off with a Feijoa gelato. Perfection, delivered to your door.

Image from this post, which is perfect if you want to create your pizza at home!

Pizza is always a great option for fast, easy vegetarian takeaways. For something a bit special I love Papa’s Pizzeria (Sandringham/Kingsland) or Pane e Vino (Ponsonby) which do delicious, authentic pizza and pasta. Dominos is something people love to hate but I gotta say that their pizza is cheap and cheerful, and customisable to a T! The fact that I can have one of my favourite meat pizzas but swap out the meat for mushrooms or fresh tomatoes is a big advantage! I have no shame in my love for their margherita pizza either.

What are your favourite options for those nights when cooking just seems like a ridiculous dream that you had when doing the food shop?

Let me know if you want more of these posts outlining some of my favourite eating options in Auckland! I’ve already done a lot of research towards it by accident…

12
Jul
2015

Tropical Gogi Smoothie

categories: Recipe, Vegetarian

I hope every one has had a beautiful weekend, mine was pretty amazing. Yesterday, Edd and I made the brave decision to leave the warmth of our bed and go for a bushwalk out in the Waitakeres. There’s something a little spectacular about walking across the top of a dam, surrounded by bush.

Looking out across the dam and pondering whether my phone camera can handle how spectacular it is.

Today is part two of the smoothie posts, and this one is a little more creative then the last (both are equally as delicious and satisfying however). This tropical gogi smoothie features a whole bunch of delicious stuff; pineapple, limes, banana, gogi berries, coconut water and some almond/coconut milk.

Together this combination is sweet and sour from the pineapple and lime, creamy from the bananas and refreshing with the coconut flavours. The gogi berries are added because I haven’t played around with them, and they added a delicious tartness. Tropical goodness, because winter is the perfect time to pretend your chilling in a pacific paradise, right?

Bonus points to this for being healthy and vegan as well as straight up delicious.

Tropical Gogi Smoothie

Ingredients

Approx 1 C of chopped fresh/tinned pineapple
Juice of 1 lime
1 banana
small handful of dried gogi berries
1 C of unsweetened almond/coconut milk or alternative
1/2 C coconut water
Ice if desired (if not, make sure the liquids are kept in the fridge beforehand)

Method – Again, not much of a method, more of a chuck it all in and blend until smooth. This will serve two people. The gogi berries do add a bit of texture, so if you don’t like the “bittiness” of them, feel free to soak the berries for approx 2 hours in a little hot water before blending.

This is my favourite smoothie to make when we have a bit of extra time or want something with more of a flavour punch. It’s like the deliciousness of a pina colada but appropriate to be drinking at 8am. The best thing about this is that you can leave out/change up the ingredients to suit your tastes, I love the zing of the lime but you could cut down if you prefer (although if you don’t love limes and add them to everything I don’t know if we can be friends).

The coconut water may not be the miracle drink it’s hyped up to be, but it does include a bunch of electrolytes and nutrients with a low calorie impact. Gogi berries are a bit of a popular nutrient gold-mine but like any fruit should be eaten in moderation.The almond and coconut milk is incredibly tasty and is my current non-dairy favourite, with a delicious nutty flavour and not too much sweetness.

This is as close to Tank smoothies as I get without leaving the house, and it makes me wish I had a pineapple tree as well as a constant supply of limes. Also, it’s not green, and we all know how much I love smoothies that aren’t packed with sneaky spinach (one day I will come up with a successful recipe, until then the leaves will stay in the salads).

Do you have any smoothie suggestions for me to try out?

05
Jul
2015

Dahl – Easy and Delicious, Vegan Winter Recipe

categories: Recipe, Vegetarian

Dahl (or more specifically, Tarka Dahl) is just one of those dishes that changes slightly every time I make it. Sometimes its the spices that get chucked in, sometimes is the amount of water; I’m just not a very consistent or specific cook. This probably means I should steer away from posting recipes on myfoxycorner, but I have been wanting to share more of the vegetarian meals that we love, which tick the boxes health-wise but are also delicious enough to keep a meat-eater satisfied (at least for a night).

You know those meals that bring back vivid memories? Dahl will always take me back to my childhood, it was one of the few recipes my mum would make (after a stint in Fiji where she became pretty handy with the spices) and something that we could eat for days on end when there was no money for meat or fresh produce. Its a nourishing meal, in every sense of the word. This is the grown up version of budget eating for the poor adult student, or perfect winter meal for the hungry vegetarian, or the saviour for the exhausted mum with 4 kids with big appetites, or the perfect adventure for a meat free Monday. Its pretty great.

Dahl is wonderfully warming and ideal for these colder months. The subtle spices and rich lentils create a true comfort food, and its also easy, cheap and perfect as leftovers. This is definitely one vegan meal that ticks all the boxes. Okay, so my recipe probably (definitely) isn’t 100% authentic, but it’s a one pot wonder that is so low-fuss and delicious, I don’t even care).

Easy Almost-Indian Dahl (serves approx. 4 hungry flatmates).

Ingredients

2 Cups of yellow (or red) lentils
1x brown onion chopped finely
2 tsp garlic
2 tsp ginger
1-2 tsp red chilli
2 tomatoes, diced
1L vegetable Stock or boiling water
1 Tbsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
Fresh coriander
1 lemon/lime

Method

Heat some oil in your pan/pot and fry off the onion until it softens on a high heat. Add in the garlic, ginger and spices and continue to fry for around a minute or 2, this releases the flavour of all the spices and is probably the most important step of any good curry.
Lower the heat and add the lentils and the stock, along with the chilli, and leave until the lentils are completely cooked (approximately 20-30 minutes). You need to keep an eye on this and give it a stir every now and again, so don’t get distracted. It may look like a soupy mess, but the lentils are going to expand and soak up all that spicy stock, don’t even worry about it. Once the lentils are cooked, you can add a bit more water if you prefer your dahl a bit soupier, or leave it thickened. This is totally up to personal preference, I tend to like something in between a soup and a curry and add water as I go to get the perfect consistency.
Add the tomatoes towards the end to prevent them completely disintegrating (like they did for me). You could also add frozen peas here if, like me, you have a pea problem and find a way to include them in every meal. I also add a generous squeeze of lemon juice (or lime) to add a little acidity and freshen it up.
Lastly, add some fresh, chopped coriander and then serve either by itself or with cooked rice. You could also add some plain yoghurt (a delicious creamy contrast to the earthy, spiced lentils), but I wanted to keep this dairy free.
Eat the dahl way too quickly and then wish you could eat more, but you can’t because you’re supposed to be taking it for leftovers tomorrow.

Lentils are a pretty amazing part of a vegetarian/vegan diet, so if I could just for one second put on my lentil appreciation hat…they’re are an amazing protein source (without all the fat and cholesterol of meat), contain heaps of fibre and are full of nutrients. The best thing about lentils is that they are ridiculously filling, but also really low in calories. Dahl is one very easy way to incorporate them into the diet, and it’s the perfect thing to try during the colder months when a spicy, warming curry becomes as attractive as Ryan Gosling in a cardigan.

Dahl will always be one of my favourite meals. It costs next to nothing and yet tastes like heaven. Also, for something that tastes so complex, it only needs around about half an hour to prepare (just don’t forget to cook your rice because you were too busy being proud of yourself for making a home-cooked dinner instead of getting burger fuel). Let me know if you give it a try!

What’s your go-to winter meal?

15
Jun
2015

Our daily, lazy breakfast

categories: Recipe, Vegetarian

I love food and spend most of my hours of the day looking forward to my next opportunity to eat. Some may consider that sad, I think of it as being gastronomically appreciative, every chance I get.

Breakfast is one of those meals I can pass on, me and toast have never been great friends and soggy cereal is basically one of my versions of hell on earth. In an effort to being better eating habits and stop eating my lunch at 11am, we bought a fancy blender and started experimenting.

This banana and mango smoothie is the most boring of them all, but I wanted to start with it as its our usual every-day choice. Delicious but no-fuss, packed with protein powder and banana to keep you full until its an appropriate time to eat lunch, its an easy winner.

We started off making this with plain yoghurt and trim milk, but have now tried to reduce our dairy and so have been substituting with almond milk instead (one day I’ll try making my own, until then laziness wins out and I have been trying different supermarket offerings). Taste-wise there isn’t much difference, apart from a slightly nutty flavour, which we both like. It does result in a slightly thinner smoothie that’s easier to drink (don’t worry, the banana still thickens it up).

Ingredients (serves 2):

2 ripe bananas
1/2 can of tinned mango (or roughly 1 fresh mango)
2 scoops of protein powder (ours is banana flavoured, but vanilla would work too)
1 1/2 cups of Almond Milk (or substitute)
Large handful of ice cubes

Chop up the banana roughly. Chuck everything in the blender and whizz (very technical) till its smooth/at your desired consistency.

The mango and banana are a really nice pair of flavours, sweet enough without needing to add any honey and matched with the nutty almond milk. Cans of mango are super cheap and I love not having to rely on fresh fruit, so there’s always a couple of tins in my pantry (I know fresh fruit is way cooler, but it always just ends up going mouldy because I put off eating it until the last possible moment). We add in protein powder just to bulk up the other protein we get from our diet, and if you have any excellent recommendations for good protein powder options please let me know!

What about you, do you live for breakfast or struggle to remember it like me? What’s your favourite smoothie flavour combination?

09
Jun
2015

Why I went vegetarian (and then decided to start a blog series about it)

categories: General/Life, Health, Vegetarian

Ready for a new series on the blog? One that will hopefully last a little longer than 2 posts and a few tweets? Well before my boss realizes I am supposed to be working (kidding, I would never blog at work), lets get into it.

Being vegetarian is now a pretty big part of my life, and my personal identity (which I’m sure annoys a lot of my meat-loving friends, I would apologise but I’m not that sorry). Eating is another big part of my life, and getting healthy is something I am trying to make more of a focus. With those three things in mind, I want to start sharing more on being a vegetarian in a meat-eating world, and how I am attempting to develop healthy vegetarian habits.

To start,I figured it was only fair to briefly explain my vegetarian journey thus far. Not as a tool to guilt others or try and unsuccessfully seem morally superior to those who are partial to some bacon, but more just as a bit of context and background.

Why I Went Vegetarian

There are heaps of different reasons why people decide to cut out meat, for me it was a combination of two factors. Firstly, I was never a huge meat eater. Chicken and mince (and bacon) were semi-regular in my diet but that was about it. Secondly, and more importantly, Edd and I both started to realise that we felt like there was a lack in congruence between our ridiculous love of animals, and our eating habits. We condemned hunters, we lamented the deaths of certain species of animals and questioned why others would eat things like horse or dog, without realising/avoiding the point that this seemed hypocritical. We decided that for us, there was no arbitrary line in the sand where certain animals deserved to bred and killed for consumption, whilst others did not. And so it only made sense to cut out all meat (obviously dairy and eggs are a whole other part of this industry that I am uncomfortable with, but one step at a time for now :)).

This was our New Years resolution for 2014, and it was a decision I expected to be far harder than it was, although I’m not saying it was extremely easy. Within a short few months, I suddenly couldn’t even force myself to eat chicken (which was the one meat I thought would be missed). We also felt a newfound satisfaction with not being a part of an industry that we had previously ignored or naively set aside as to big of an issue for us to make a difference. Our diet suffered at first, without adequate knowledge about how to eat healthy on a vegetarian diet (okay, so part lack of knowledge but a bigger part of just pure laziness). This year is when we have finally found our stride and figured out how to make it work.

Do I have any spinach in my teeth?

There are so many other reasons to become vegetarian, and I know that it’s different for each individual, but these were our core motivations. Would it have been different if we were eating steak 4 times a week and dining on every variety of meat available? Maybe, but I would hope that we would still have arrived at this decision, even if it took a little longer.

And so here we are, a year and a half later, finally figuring out how to be healthy vegetarians and not just replace McDonalds with BK Salad Burgers (they are delicious though…). I now have a fair few delicious vegetarian recipes up my sleeve, and I can’t wait to share and learn more with those who are also vegetarian or who just want some easy, healthy meal ideas.

Starving in Italy.

I envisage the series including a variety of posts, like the best burger joints in Auckland for vege lovers, nutritious and easy dinner ideas, and general healthy eating habits (like the variety of delicious smoothies we have been experimenting with to increase protein and reduce snacking). If there are any other ideas for what you would like to see as part of this, please let me know! All inspiration is welcome.

Starving at #brunchclub

If you’re vegetarian, I would love to know! Let me know what your journey has been like, and why you went vegetarian in the first place If you’re not vegetarian, but want to share any delicious vegetarian meals you make, or ask for any clarification as to why we went vegetarian, please feel free to comment. I don’t bite, promise.

For those of you who have no interest in this whatsoever, I promise that for now my blog will remain its usual mismash of topics, and this will only be one of them. Having said that, I not-so secretly hope to convert the entire world, one bacon-lover at a time.

Edit: Below are a couple of vegetarian/vegan recipes I have posted since this little intro.