FEASTOLOGY

Cheesy mushroom spinach omelette

My first attempt at vegan cake for my mom’s birthday. I lost the recipe since this is from a while back… But I just wanted to show that sometimes less is more - a cake decorated simply with fruits and no vegan “frosting” (often made from margarine or shortening or egg replacers or other nasty stuff) can look good (kinda) and honest.

I could go on and on ranting about how some of the vegans out there try so hard to make vegan versions of non-vegan things (eg. fake meat, fake cheese, etc) out of chemicals with names you can’t even pronounce. Maybe you should rethink why you turned vegan. If it’s because of religious reasons or actual allergies, fair enough. If you are trying to be more healthy, well, my dear, you’re clearly doing it wrong. Stick to naturally vegan things, like real veg and fruits and nuts and seeds and so much more. If you feel like eating meat, for goodness’s sake, go get some real freaking meat.

Keep it real people.

Hazelnut chocolate mini’s (raw/ vegan/ gluten-free). Aren’t they adorable!

• 2 cups hazelnuts
• 1 cup pitted dates
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder, divided
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons maple syrup, divided
• 1 medium avocado
• Extra hazelnuts for garnish

1. Pulse the hazelnuts in a food processor until finely ground into a flour
2. Add in the dates, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, and 1/4 cup maple syrup and process until it forms into a thick dough that sticks together.
3. Lay the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper and roll to about 3/4-inch thickness.
4. With a sharp knife, cut the dough into either 8 or 10 equal sized rectangles. If there’s excess dough you can form it into a ball, roll it out, and cut again.
5. Make the frosting by blending together the remaining maple syrup, cocoa powder, and the meat from the avocado until it’s uniform in color and texture. Taste it and adjust the sweetness if need be.
6. Spread about 2 tablespoons of frosting over half of the cakes. Layer with another slice and spread an equal amount of frosting on top of that piece.
7. Garnish with hazelnuts.

Recipe from: http://www.thewannabechef.net/2011/08/15/hazelnut-chocolate-cake-rawvegan/

Cheesy tomato onion eggplant bake

• 1 small eggplant (julienne cut)
• 1 small onion (sliced)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 sticks of string cheese (or mozarella)
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp parsley flakes
• salt, pepper (to taste)

Mix everything in an oven-safe bowl. Bake at 190C for around 40 minutes or until you see stuff starting to brown.

Sometimes I forget how good the simplest food can taste.

Dressing:

• 1 tbsp non-fat greek yogurt
• 1 tsp grated parmesan
• salt, pepper, white pepper, sugar (to taste)
• 1 tbsp water

Whisk until everything is thoroughly mixed.

Assemble:
1. Slice up a tomato. Put them along with your salad greens on a plate.
2. Top with shredded cheddar if desired.
3. Drizzle with the dressing.
4. Dig in and feel good about yourself.

Smoked salmon on table crackers

First time visiting Sadhana Kitchen. Everything there is raw, vegan, and ubbberrrr delicious. Staff there was so sweet to give us complimentary desserts even! Will definitely be back soon!

Tomatoes stuffed with tuna olive salad

Makes 4 servings. Double or triple the recipe if you wish

• 4 large round tomatoes
• 2  6oz cans tuna
• 1 small cucumber (chopped)
• 1/2 red onion (finely chopped)
• 6-8 black olives (chopped)
• dash of sherry vinegar
• drizzle of olive oil
• 4 tsp grated parmesan
• dash of salt & pepper

1. Drain tuna and put in a big mixing bowl.
2. Add in chopped cucumber, olives and red onion. Mix.
3. Splash a bit of sherry vinegar on the mixture and drizzle olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.

Recipe adapted from: http://spanishfood.about.com/od/maincourses/r/tomateconatun.htm

Homemade whole wheat pizza yummo extravaganza.