Posted in Friday Five, tagged friday five, vegan, vegetarian on November 25, 2011| 9 Comments »
Hi all!
It’s Friday (and almost December?!), crazy! This week the lovely Jess from Cupcakes and Kale was kind enough to answer the Friday Five. Her blog is the perfect balance between sweet and savoury, which is great for vegans like me who are considerably baking-challenged. These cupcakes are her recipe and- let me tell you- they were a huuuge hit! So check out her answers (and her site!) and I’m sure you’ll like this sweet vegan lady as much as I do 🙂
Happy weekend friends! xo
Posted in Dessert, Dinner, Guest post, tagged Chick peas, curry, dessert, guest post, peppers, plums, spinach, tomatoes, vegan, vegetarian on November 22, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Hi everyone!
My name is Caroline and I’m super excited to share this post with you all. Like the Hungry Birdie herself, I am also a law student – studying across the pond in a town called Canterbury (yes from the tales!). As a self-professed cheese aficionado, I have to admit I wasn’t always so thrilled with the idea of vegan cooking. I expected the ingredients to be completely foreign and inaccessible, but reading Robin’s blog inspired me to try a few new recipes (Winter potato salad, Penne with sun dried tomatoes and walnuts… Mmmmm!). And while you probably won’t catch me with a forkful of tofu any day soon, I’m getting a little closer… Enjoy!
Vegetable curry
Serves: 4
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp curry paste
4 plum tomatoes, or similar
2 red bell peppers
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
½ can coconut milk
4 cups of spinach or other dark green
Halve and peel one onion and slice into very thin half-moons. In deep pan, sauté onions in olive oil and a pinch of salt until golden and translucent (bonus points if you have the patience to caramelize them slightly). When golden, add two finely chopped cloves of garlic and two tablespoons of your favourite curry paste.
Add a few chopped tomatoes, sliced bell pepper and one can of chickpeas. Shake and pour in half a can of coconut milk. (I freeze the other half in an ice cube tray, pop them out and keep them in the freezer for next time!) Add about a cup of recently boiled water until you are happy with the consistency. Simmer away for a few minutes, add salt if needed.
At the end, wilt in a few handfuls of dark greens – I used organic spinach here. Serve alongside rice, quinoa, or nan bread, and a cold ale if you so fancy it. Enjoy!
If you’re in the mood for a nice light dessert to go with your spicy curry, try…
Baked Plums with Golden Sugar and Allspice
Serves: 4
4 plums, halved and pitted
2 tbsp golden brown sugar
1 ½ tsp allspice
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Coat the exposed side of each plum in the allspice and sugar. Bake cut-side up for 20-25 minutes, until slightly scorched and soft in the middle. (This works better with firm plums.)
Serve warm or room temperature, with chopped nuts or a nice soymilk ice cream!
Posted in Dinner, tagged broccoli, cheese, daiya, pita, pizza, vegan, vegetarian on November 15, 2011| 6 Comments »
Some days I feel like preparing fresh dough, making homemade tomato sauce and scouring the freshest ingredients in order to make knock-out vegan pizzas. Lately though, amidst the mountains of readings, case comments, and legal memos, I’ve started to think that less is more. Less work in the kitchen that is! I’m not quite back to my undergrad days of Kraft Dinner, canned soup and peanut butter off a spoon (okay, fine, I still do that last one sometimes…), but being so busy has forced me to come up with quick and satisfying weeknight dinners. These vegan pita pizzas have become a staple around my house. I recommend using whole wheat pitas, broccoli, and chia seeds to up the nutritional factor on these bad boys!
Easy pita pizzas
Makes 2
2 whole grain pitas
1/2 package of Daiya mozzarella
1/2 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 tbsp of chia seeds
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp chili flakes
salt and pepper to taste
Place pitas on baking tray lined with aluminum foil and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread tomato sauce on the surface of both pitas, sprinkle on the oregano, chili flakes, salt and pepper before adding a generous layer of Daiya. Next, add the broccoli florets and chia seeds and bake for about 20 minutes or until crusts are golden brown and cheese is bubbly.
Aaannd then get back to studying!
Posted in Friday Five, tagged friday five, vegan, vegetarian on November 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Guys! This week’s Friday Five comes from one my all-time favourite food bloggers, Isa Chandra from Post Punk Kitchen! I mean,come on, her site is amazing, she has a bagillion cookbooks, and her cookie recipes are to die for (exhibit A, exhibit B)! So take a second to find out why she’s a loveable vegan with an affinity for squash butts. Yup.
Posted in Dinner, Lunch, Soup, tagged asian, cilantro, corn, soup, thai, vegan, vegetarian on November 9, 2011| 6 Comments »
Good morning! Just a quick recipe today as I’m running late for school. What can I say about this soup? It’s simple to prepare, makes enough for leftovers, and is just really damn tasty!
Happy Wednesday everyone!
Thai corn and cilantro soup
Serves 4-6
1 tbsp veggie oil
1 tbsp chopped hot pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 onion, diced
1 tbsp ginger
6 cups veggie stock
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 cups corn
1 can coconut milk
1/2 package tofu, cut into 1/2″ cubes
3/4 cups fresh cilantro, chopped
Begin by heating the oil on medium heat and cook the onions, garlic, ginger, and hot pepper until just soft (about 5 minutes).
Add veggie stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and stir in the soy sauce, corn, tofu, coconut milk and 1/2 cup of cilantro (save the rest for garnish).
Allow soup to simmer on low heat for at least 15 minutes (longer= more flavour) before serving. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Garnish with the remaining cilantro and enjoy!
Posted in Friday Five, tagged friday five, vegan, vegetarian on November 4, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Well here we are again, hello Friday, nice to see you! Is it just me or are the weeks just flying by lately? This week’s edition of Friday Five comes from one of my closest friends who only recently adopted a vegan diet. She is studying to be a nutritionist and has told me that progress in her program is slow to recognize the benefits of a plant-based diet. This is frustrating to hear, although not all that surprising. But I am thankful for people like Nikki who can advocate for the nutritional advantages of being vegan. Go Nikki!
Posted in Friday Five, tagged vegan, vegetarian on October 28, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Chris is a friend of mine from school and a fellow vegan. It’s been so wonderful to meet a few other vegans in the program (mainly because it gives us an excuse to go here more often). I admire Chris for his social advocacy skills- especially when it comes to his passion for veganism- and I like to think he admires me for introducing him to Daiya cheese! Needless to say, I’m thrilled that he agreed to answer the Friday Five this week, enjoy!
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