One More To Go

Going to update tomorrow with the last recipe post before the site upgrade.

It's going to be a good one; vegan, chocolate, mousse cake. Kinda like a Bavarian, I guess. :)

And then, finally, the site update. Hopefully it will make this place look less like a shanty.

  xo.
Moonlight.

Eggplant Dip

Second to last recipe before the site update - are you excited? ;P

You should be! I've been working on a logo, banner and watermark. :) It should be updated within the next two weeks (tops!). I just have a few last things to finish, (like the tons of info that needs updating on here).

Anyway, (getting a little side tracked here...) I present to you, for your snacking needs; Eggplant Dip. 

Woo!

My housemate and I were wondering how eggplant got it's name, and after some research we came up with this:

1. The original eggplant looked more like a goose-egg and was a yellowish colour 

2. The eggplant is actually the fruit of a plant called eggplant

I'm not sure which one is correct, although it's more likely they are both correct, at least partly, but I did find out that the origin was China. :)

Eggplant Dip

Ingredients 

• 4 medium sized eggplants
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 red onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 3 tablespoons of oil (rice bran, vegetable, canola etc.) + a little extra for coating
• 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon of cumin powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of chili powder
• 2 teaspoons of sweet chili sauce
• 2 teaspoons of salt or vegetable stock
• a handful of parsley 

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 50 minutes 

Preheat oven to 180C (350F), then line a baking tray with baking paper. Place the four eggplant onto the tray, sprinkle a little oil and vegetable stock on them, rub them until mixture spreads all over, then place them in the oven for 40 minutes. (You can check at the 20 minute part to turn them).

After the egg plant have been in the oven for 20 minutes:

In a medium-large pan, on a medium heat, put the 1 tablespoon of oil, sliced onion and garlic, then cook for 2-3 minutes.

Next, add the spices to the pan and cook for a further 3-5 minutes until the mixture is fragrant. 

Add the roughly chopped tomatoes, and sweet chili sauce to pan, and cook until the tomatoes begin to get soft. (5-10 minutes) 

It should be about time to take out the eggplant from the oven. They should be mostly soft and mushy (it's okay if they're not completely for they will cook a little longer in the pan)

Roughly tear the eggplant into large chunks, then add it to the pan with the rest of the ingredients. Allow to cook for a further 5-10 minutes so that it combines.

Let it cool for 10-15 minutes, then put it into a blender and blend until it's a thick, smooth, creamy paste. 

You can have this dip with just about anything. ;)

I like mine with wedges! ^^

Hope you liked this one. See you in my next update, which will be the last one before the site upgrade!!! :O

xo.

Moonlight

Salted Caramel Apple Crumble

I've been trying to go a bit more seasonal with my food lately, and since we're in the cold months here, what could be more seasonal than apples?

I sent my housemate and myself on a quest to find the most appealing apple dishes to make, and we found a lot of things; caramel apples, baked apples, apple pies, apple cobblers, apple cheesecake, apple bars, apple cakes, ginger ale, ginger pop, ginger beer, beer bubbles, bubbleade, bubblecola, double cola, double-bubble-burple-cola, okay I'll stop quoting Wonka now, but you get the picture. ;P

Strangely enough, we couldn't actually find a recipe which reflected exactly what we wanted; something hot, gooey, rich, and flowing with rivers of fudgy caramel. So, I just decided to invent one. 

Now, I'm sure there's recipes for salted caramel apple crumble around, but I couldn't find any that did it like this one and were also vegan.

You're in for a teat, oh, and did I mention that it's a lot healthier than a normal crumble? It's got so much coconut in it, it's practically good for you! ;P

Salted Caramel Apple Crumble 

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients: 

For caramel sauce:

• 1 can of full-fat coconut milk (400ml)
• 1/2 cup of coconut sugar (or brown sugar if you prefer)
• 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt (it would be best to slowly as this in and taste as you go. You may find that you don't want it that salty, or you may want it even saltier).
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla (I use vanilla paste)
• 2 tablespoons of vegan butter (I use Nuttelex) 

Optional: 

• Cornflour (if you want your sauce a bit thicker quickly) 

For crumble:

• 1 cup of all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
• 2/3 cup of coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
• 3 tablespoons of vegan butter
• 3 tablespoons of coconut oil (or you can just use 3 more of the butter)

For apples:

• 4-6 small, granny smith apples
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons of vegan butter
• 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt

Prep time: 15-20 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes 

Preheat your oven to 180 Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) then start making the caramel sauce. 

In a small-medium sized saucepan mix the sugar and butter until it has melted. Bring this to a boil then pour the coconut milk in slowly, stirring as you go, then add the salt and vanilla to the mix.

Let that boil away, without a lid, on a medium heat for 15 minutes to thicken (you may need to stir it occasionally). While the sauce is thickening, you can cut the apples into wedges. Once they've been cut, put the lemon juice and butter in a large frying pan, on a medium heat, then add the apples once the butter has melted. Cook the apples for 2-3 minutes, then add the salt (which will help the apples let out their moisture). Turn the heat down to medium-low, and let them simmer away while the sauce is thickening. 

As they are cooking you can make the crumble topping. 

Put the dry ingredients for the crumble in a large mixing bowl, then add the butter and coconut oil. 

Mix the ingredients together (preferably with your hands), until they become soft, buttery cookie crumbs. 

Once the 15 minutes are up the sauce should be thickened, but if you want it thicker then add a little cornflour to help it. 

Pour 2/3 of the sauce into the pan with the apples and let it cook for a further 2 minutes until they are properly combined.

Pour the apple mixture into a baking dish of choice, and tap down lightly with the back of a spoon, then sprinkle the crumble mixture on top. Put it into the oven for 20 minutes.

When you take it out the crumble mix should have puffed slightly. Serve immediately for best results (although it's still delicious if you want to refrigerate it and heat it up again later).

You can top it with vegan whipped cream and the remaining caramel sauce.

Tell me if you liked this one. ^_^ I know it did!

xo.

Moonlight

Vegan Pad Thai & Other News

Ah, I'm glad to be back, yknow. 

And to celebrate there's going to be two new special things.

Firstly, I'm going to improve the layout of this place sometime this upcoming week. I'll tidy it up, make it look a little nicer and even add a banner (gasp! that's crazy right?!).

and secondly,

I'll be getting a digital camera soon! :'D

Well technically, my housemate and I will be getting one for our little craft business, but I will be able to use it for taking pictures for this blog. No more crappy phone pictures! Woo! 

Anyway, to celebrate my return, I give to you a delicious vegan Pad Thai. The kind that will make you wonder why you never had this version to begin with. ;)

I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but it's winter (well Autumn technically... but my frostbitten toes like to say otherwise) where I live, and in those cold, dark recluse months it is habitual for people all around the globe to start craving those cosy, warm and usually butter-smothered foods. Soups, stews, and casseroles become the staple of people's diets.

And it's true, while those dishes have their alluring, siren-song charm, there's something else, which is often overlooked, that comforts me and gets me through those long formidable months... and that something is spicy food.

No matter how cold it gets, as long as I have a big bowl of chili I know I'm going to be alright. So, today's recipe, Vegan Pad Thai, is one of my main chilly season dishes. It'll put some fire in your belly! ;) 

Vegan Pad Thai

Serves: 2 

Ingredients: 

• 100g Pad Thai noodles or rice noodles
• 1/2 broccoli bunch 
• 125g firm tofu
• 1/2 brown onion
• 2 cloves of garlic 
• 1 red or green chili (the medium sized ones not the really small ones)
• 1/2 red capsicum/bell pepper 
• 50g peanuts 
• 1 handful of beansprouts 
• 1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil (you can also use peanut oil, or you choice of vegetable oil) 
• a small handful of chopped parsley (or coriander) 
• vegetable stock, to taste 

For sauce:

• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 2 tablespoon of kecap manis soy sauce (thick sweet soy sauce. you can use the regular kind too, but this one gives it a sweeter, thicker taste)
• 1 tablespoon of white miso paste
• 1 tablespoon of tamarind paste 
• 1 tablespoon of sriracha sauce
• 1 teaspoon of coconut sugar (you can also use regular cane sugar. If that's the case then brown sugar would work best, but any sugar will work fine)
• 1/4 cup of filtered water 

Optional:

• a few drops of sesame oil 

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15-20 minutes

Before I do anything else, I first bring a medium sized saucepan filled with water to boil, then add the broccoli florets to it (I just break them off of the bunch and cut them if they're too big). I boil them for five minutes maximum so that they don't take so long to cook later. So, we're basically just blanching them. You can tell when they're ready to drain because they turn bright green. 

Next I cut the tofu into bite sized pieces. If you like you can marinate your tofu before hand (with some oil, garlic and lemon). I do this on days where I'm not lazy. ;P

Then, I fry it in a large pan with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. I sprinkle a bit of vegetable stock so they soak up some flavour (you don't want them to be bland, yuk! >_<). If you like you can also sprinkle a little turmeric powder to give them a more golden colour. 

Whilst I'm cooking the tofu, I prep the onions, garlic and chili. I cut the onions into half moons, cut the garlic into slices, and cut the chili also into half moons (although, it really doesn't matter how you cut it).

After the tofu have begun to crisp slightly on the outside, and have gained a bit of colour, I set them aside in a bowl for later.

I add more coconut oil to the pan if needed, then add the onion, garlic and chili and let it cook and soften for a few minutes. While this is cooking you can cut the capsicum/bell pepper into long, thin strips (although as you can see, I'm not all about cutting them that thin. That would actually require me to be patient :P) When the onion mix starts become fragrant that's when you know it's time to add the capsicum/bell pepper.

After cooking on a medium heat for about 3-5 minutes, I then add the partly cooked broccoli and tofu. Then I chop the peanuts roughly and throw them in too. The peanuts I get are already roasted, but fresh ones would be fine too.

While this is cooking I bring a saucepan of water to boil again, then add the noodles. I find that a lot of brands have different cooking instructions, so it's best to follow what they say on how to cook them, but none of them will take very long. 

While the noodles are cooking I make the sauce which will bring everything together. <3

I add all the ingredients for the sauce together in a small bowl and mix until combined.

Note: I find it best to dissolve the miso in 1/4 cup of the water used for the sauce before adding it in. Make sure it's boiling water so it dissolves properly. This is so the sauce isn't lumpy (let's face it, no one wants a large clump of miso in their mouth). It's okay if it doesn't dissolve 100%, as long as it's mostly dissolved. 

Once the noodles are cooked I drain them and add them into the pan along with the beansprouts. I mix until everything begins to combine, then I pour in the sauce and mix that through. If the sauce is too thick, you may want to add about a tablespoon more of water.

Let it heat through for a few minutes, and at this stage you can add 3/4 of the parsley and mix it through. Then simply serve and sprinkle the rest of the parsley on top. 

Hope you liked this recipe!

xo.

Moonlight

I'm Back, Baby!

So, after a few weeks of not being able to post due to my only source of a camera dying on me, I'm finally back!

I have a new phone, thus a new camera. So far the camera on it seems to take pictures, so hopefully it will work fine for posting on here, and even if it doesn't I will be getting a proper camera soon (for my small crafts business I have with my housemate), which I can use to take better pictures.

Woo!

Hopefully, I should be posting recipes again as of Friday-ish.

So, stay tuned for some more awesome vegan recipes! ^_^

xo.
Moonlight