New Vego Restaurant (2/5) CROSSWAYS

Howdy Y'all! It has taken me a while to find this place, and I'm going to say it's because i couldn't seem to find it and it wasn't where i thought it was... Yeah that washes. You may know it as "cross roads" the Hare Krishna Restaurant. Basically it's $6.50 all you can eat curry, dessert and drinks (cordial or lassi) and $5.00 for concession card holders - that's YOU students :)

It's on Swanston almost near the corner of Little Collins :) This is the curry they had - a yummy chunky vegie one.

The only problem is that it was about 45 degrees up there and i nearly sweated my face off.. nearly. It was one of those times when the backs of your knees get sweaty. feral. I am sooo not a summer person. Anyway, at least you get to look at their cool pictures :)

And watch people eat funny...

And enjoy the breath of fresh air on the way out :)

If you can stand the heat (figuratively and literally) this is the place to go for your next weekday lunch :)

New Vego Restaurant (1/5) WHITE LOTUS VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT

Ok, you're probably going "omg what a dick head... that place has been around for years....". Well yes, i fucking know that. The 2001 Cheap Eats guide review blu-tacked to the wall made it quite clear that I have officially arrived late to the opening night party of this place. But that's ok, I like the un-pretentious vibe it had and the fact that for a booking of 4 we were given a big round table for 12. I have been meaning to come here ever since i found out the definition of 'Vegan', and now... I HAVE. WHOOPEEE!

You can find this place on Victoria Street near the Queen Vic Market - just past Peel Street. They specialise in mock meat here, and their most famous dishes are mock duck and mock fish. Crazy huh? Here are a few of their beliefs displayed on the walls...

Pretty cool. We ordered some starters - an assorted plate of starters. Eggplant fritters, taro fritters, wontons, and spring rolls. Bear in mind that this is all vegan...

We got a bucket of rice to share - that was cool...

And here are our mains! This is Steak and black bean :

Wasn't amazing, but nice. This next one was just mind-blowing. It is the fake fish. It looks, smells and tastes like fish.... but it is not.

It's in a tamarind sauce. I highly recommend it. I think it was $19... which is pretty much what you would pay for fish at a chinese place. You have to eat it to believe it! Ok, and here was what i got... DUCK:

Again it looked, smelled and tasted like duck. Awesome! It had crispy skin and everything!! We were so impressed we tried to get rad out the front but i had the lighting all wrong and the 2 guys are just blurs of satisfied customers...

Then we went looking for ice cream at Korean Groceries. Corey found this yummy fish.. it was like ice cream cone with ice cream and red bean inside - was cool!

Sacha got a nice sponge cake ice cream coffee concoction which was also good. I am all about sharing ice creams in case you didnt notice already. I didnt want a whole one, but i wanted to try them both. With a little suggesting they happened to pick one that i liked too hhah

Then squelch decided to get some sushi for lunch the next day. Was pretty funny cos none of the assorted packs could cut it so the lady opened about 4 packs and did some swaps so he got the ultimate pack :)

So there you go, a bit overdue but that was the first new vego place i was meaning to try and have done it :)

World Vegan Day 2010

Yo yo yo! I am totally getting behind in my posts! So much to say, so little time in which to say it... or somethin' like dat! So, anyway, on Sunday I went to World Vegan Day at the Abbotsford Convent - it was pretty cool. I found out from mum that my nana grew up there! Amazing. My ignorance is just amazing. Anyway, on World Vegan Day, you will see things like this:

Lots of proud people there, I must say! I really wish it wasn't raining so much, but it was a nice day despite that. There was music, talks, stalls and demonstrations but the main attaction for me was all the food!! There were lots of stalls selling hot aromatic vegan food!! The line for the pie place was epic, and snaked out into the rain so I had a squizz at all of the other places and ended up getting a vegie burger.. haha exotic...

But it had beetroot on it, and satay sauce.... hellooo!! yummy! Still no match for "Vego and Lovin it" in adelaide though! Also after lunch we ended up watching a demonstration on dehydrated 'cooking' and raw foods. Dr. John Green gave a demostration on how to make chocolate and a tomatoey/savoury slice. This was his dehydrated chocolate:

He basically ground up some cocoa beans and added nuts, banana, tahini, goji berries etc etc and then made a layer of it on a tray then put it in the dehydrator for a few days. it was really nice!! Now THAT is a lot of effort to go through for chocolate. Raw foodists are very thorough! Next I got a beautiful vegan smoothie and though i'd show you all how packed the food area was...

Dr. Green gave us some cocoa beans to eat, and i did not like them at all. So strong and bitter!! This is what it looks like on the inside:

Also, on the way back to the station I saw this funny graffiti. It was funny because the guy I was with is named Avery... and he was just SHOCKED and appauled haha

He and his bag of apples just marched on by in a huff! Not really, he doesn't often get into a huff, I made that bit up. I also took a video of how dirty train seats are, he was hitting one with this little steel instrument and clouds of dirt were coming out. feral. unfortunately i am having trouble uploading videos here for the time being so you can't see it, or the videos i took of missy and chester fighting! On an unrelated note, but sort of related, but not really... this morning as I was getting ready for work, Josh woke up and said "There is also fish oil in pencils..." and i asked if he was sleep talking and he said "No, it helps bind..." and then went back to sleep. what a crazy guy! ^_^

dish 14) soya burgers a la jade

ZOMG! I cooked THREEEEEE dishes from scratch on the weekend. This was the first one. I have never used soy beans before so I picked some dry ones up from the market on Friday ($4 per kilo) and soaked them overnight for this little beauty. I found a recipe online but of course didn't follow it properly (oops) but they turned out pretty delicious! Here are the first and last pictures, as the in-between ones were pretty un-impressive.

Can you see the hair on the beans!? Gross, didn't notice that until now... hmm. I thought they tasted a little hairy haha. Anyway here are the patties about to go in the oven:

The flavour was amazing, but they were still a little soft in the middle. I don't think i'll ever figure out how the dude from "Vego 'n' Lovin it" does it. I like soy beans, they are supposed to be one of the best legumes around in terms of nutritional value. They are also cheap azz. They went down a treat at the BBQ I attended on Saturday and I gave some more as a gift to my friend's mum. The rest are now in the freezer for later easy consumption!

Here is a rough recipe of what i did:

2 cups dry soy beans

6 cups stock (veg or beef)

2 tbsp. oil

4 garlic cloves, diced

2 large onions, minced superfine

1 carrot, minced superfine
1/2 green capsicum, minced
1/2 red capsicum, minced

1 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper

1/2 tsp. basil

1/2 tsp. parsley

Pepper and salt

2 tbsp. peanut butter
Squirt of light soy sauce

*'no egg' if you want to thicken it up vegan style.

- Soak the soy beans in water to cover overnight. Put soy beans and stock in a large pot, and cook over low heat for 2 1/2 hours until soft, making sure they are always covered with liquid.

-Skim the gunk off the water as it cooks. (I heard that this foam is what exaccerbates bean-related flatulence, but I have read an article today which says that it is indigestible sugars in beans which cause gas and not the foam. The article says that the foam is caused by water soluble proteins.)

- In a food processor put in the onion and blend to fine bits. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat; add the garlic and onions and cook until golden.

- In the food processor, add the carrot and capsicum and blend into tiny flecks. Add this and seasonings to the onion/garlic. Cook for 2 minutes, until tender.

- Preheat oven to 180C. Oil a cookie sheet.

- Drain the soy beans and blend up in the food processor. Combine them with the vegetable mix in a large bowl. Add the peanut butter.

- Form the mixture into patties and place on the cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes; turn burgers over and bake for 20 mins more.

These go really well with tomato relish or fresh tomato :) mmm hungry!!

dish 5) ratatouille

OH MY GOD! Possibly a new favourite dish here folks! So this all started when I was watching my new favourite DVD - the Gourmet Farmer. For those who don't know, Sydnet food critic Matthew Evans decided to persue his life long dream of sustainable living and farming etc so he moved to Tasmania and bought a farm. Then the film crew tag along to watch his progress. It is so amazing. I learnt from his friend Nick Haddow (aka gourmet cheesemaker and all-round genius at life) how to make cheese in the kitchen :O Not that i would attempt it... but i learned so much, and suddenly all i want are pigs and chooks and a huge vegie patch. So yeah, I was watching some special features which were just him cooking recipes, and he made Ratatouille in his Dutch oven. I suddenly remembered that Hayden had a Dutch Oven - never been used - in the cupboard. I had my mind made up and bought the ingredients and made it at around 5pm... basically i used the following basic ingredients:

- 2 brown onions, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 eggplants, cubed
- 1 red capsicum, diced
- 3 medium zucchini, cubed
- 3 portabella mushrooms (just cos matthew evans used some hehe)
- 2 tins good quality chopped tomatoes

Chop it all up and cook it off in some oil, then add the tomatoes.

Put it in a moderate oven (around 170) for as many hours as you can wait. We waited about.... 3 or so. Take it out and CHECK THIS SHIT OUT:

Serve it with some crusty grilled bread, and i swear on my life you will have a new favourite healthy dish! Seriously worth the wait - so smooth and soft with such punchy flavour - all natural flavours! It's funny that we used sourdough bread because on the Gourmet Farmer they explain how sourdough is made and we were all like "eeeeeew" haha. Forgot about that one pretty quickly though :)

I am seriously in love with this cast iron dish right now. Remember a while ago I made some chili con carne and it tasted really weak and watery? Well, with cast iron those are problems of the past!! I cooked off some onion, garlic, red capsicum, sweet paprika, cayenne pepper, cumin and coriander in the dish, and then added the defrosted container of chili to it. I put it in the oven for about 1-2 hours and it was ORGASMIC! It was not even the same dish anymore and i was able to tell myself that i am still amazing at life and my pride is re-established once more! HAZAAAAHHHHHHH

muckin' about & VEGAN MABO DOUFU

Heyyy Brotherrr(z)! After my last post, I bet you thought I would have chained myself to the VCR and watched all of my home movies right? Wrong. I have only watched a few bits more. It's hard cos I'll only watch them alone or with a family member - I don't want to subject my housemates to that haha! I did see a Christmas tape from 1988 so i was 1.5yrs old and was so fat and placid. All i wanted was the chocolate. I was happy to share any of my toys with my hyperactive older brother, and I wasn't really interested in opening any presents. Just wanted that sweet sweet Freddo Frog. T'was rather cute though. Instead of that I have been just hanging out and cooking! I haven't really taken many pics cos i suck BUT let me tell you that adding mustard to curry is AMAZING! Here is a photo I took on the weekend when i couldn't stop singing that Italian song that sounds all dancey...i think its called "we speak no americano"... crazy

It is a moth on the roof. Not sure how its wings are stuck and its whole body is hanging down. Oh also, I bought a car on the weekend to replace my beloved EBI which was stolen from me about a month or so ago. It is hail damaged so i got it for cheap, see:

There were these crazy storms in Melbourne a few months back and all these cars got SMASHED! So I picked up this 2003 Nissan Pulsar for a total of $6,000 with all the warranties/RWC/VIV/Rego etc etc. Pretty sweeet! I just spoke to the VIV office again and they said it could be another 2 weeks before they can inspect the car and say "no, its not stolen." UGGHHHH!! Patience jade, patience.. soon enough you will have your awesome replacement MANUAL GOLD CAR! YAY! Sorry if that sounded crazy talking to myself there...

Oh also, My mum bought her puppy a little pet house but the puppy is too big, so mum thought Chester might like it. See for yourself:

I think he likes it to a degree :) He can barely fit in it though. But cats like those confined spaces don't they?

Ok well I know I said that I didn't take pictures of the meals i have been making, but last night I did! Even though I have a cold and my taste function is pretty much dead, I cooked a dish that I have been thinking about for a while! It is called Mabo Doufu. It's a chinese dish involving Silken Tofu and ground beef. It's popular in Japan and I had it there a few years ago as part of a delicious Lunch Set. On a whim on Monday I bought 2 tubs of silken tofu from the Asian Grocery at 99c each, then I had to think what to cook. That's when I remembered this delectable dish! I found a vegan version online and changed it to suit my tastes, and even though I couldn't taste it, I know it was FABULOUS (sorry, just practising for Sex and the City 2)! Josh and Hayden both raved about it, so I'm pretty sure this recipe won't kill you.

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VEGAN MABO DOUFU

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1 Tub silken tofu

1 Tin Sanitarium Vegie Casserole Mince (see picture below)

3 Tbsp Sesame Oil

1 chili pepper, minced. (or chilli powder to your liking)

1 small onion, minced

3 Button mushrooms

1/2 leek, minced (white part)

1 Clove Garlic, minced

1 Tbsp ginger, minced

2 Tbsp Soy Sauce + 1tsp Sugar

2 Tbsp Cornflour + 1/2 Cup water

(Optional: Miso Paste - i forgot to add this - SHITFUCKSHIT)

Spring Onion for garnish

1) Very gently wrap the silken tofu block in a tea towel and place on a plate to soak up liquid.

2) Heat the oil and add Onion, Garlic, Ginger, Leek, Mushrooms and chili. Fry until onions are soft

3) Cut the tofu into 1cm squares. Be gentle as you want little cubes in the finished dish.

4) Add the vegie casserole mince and stir to combine.

5) Add Soy/sugar mixture and stir.

6) VERY GENTLY add the tofu. Lightly push everything around to mix. Try to be careful not to break the tofu

7) Cover and cook on a low heat for about 10 mins.

8) Add the cornflour/water mixture. Gently stir, you will see it thicken immediately!

9) Taste and add extra flavours if you wish. I added pepper and some vegie oyster sauce.

Here is how I served it:

I used the Rice Cooker to cook the rice, and when it was done i used a 1 cup measuring cup and packed it tightly with Rice, and then tipped onto a plate. It was actually a bit much for me, but a 1/2 cup looks too small :P I also stir-fried some asian greens along with it. So it was pretty healthy and easy and delicious (i think). Do try!

vegan pancakes

i wonder why i was walking around the shopping centre thinking i was going to spray my path with vomit...? Probs because i ate that.... twice. The caramelised banana and walnut was da bomb...

a melbourne romp

mmyes, mmyes quite so...

A few weeks ago, I met up with Hayden and his ex-girlfriend Giselle and we hit the town. She moved to Queensland a while back and has been hanging out bad for some Melbourne culture and COFFEEEE! So off we went to check out some cool shit. First off, we hit Antons in Melbourne Central. When I say "hit" I don't mean 'rob' of course! We were greeted by the Manager:

Not really, but he would make a good security guard - his eyes followed me around!!

One of the things you will notice is the astounding collection of figurines and memorabilia ALL over the store. The shop assistant told us that the owner is obsessed and wanted to show them all off in his store. There is just so much to look at. I even saw a Patrick Bateman (American Psycho) collectible. Cool.

And what shop is complete without:

NIPPLE TASSLES!!!

Next we headed to one place EVERYONE knows in Melbourne. Degraves Street. A small alleyway full of awesome cafes and coffee shops, umbrella'd tables and chairs dotting the road. Hayden wanted something Vegan, naturally, so we hit TOFWD (The Organic Food and Wine Deli) on Degraves...

lots of goodies were for sale...

and he got some cake:

and I got a bloody mary!This was a day or 2 after my car was nicked so i was drinking my sorrows away in the chilly afternoon air. I tell you, that drink had a little too much kick and i sorta kinda burnt my throat.

We got out beverages from here:

note: that man was standing there for ages reading a book against the wall. Not sure what was going on. He WAS next to a toilet door... so maybe he was pooing his pants cos the line was taking so long..?

the less attractive side of degraves. Oh and below is the Melbourne Central spire from inside..

priddy, no? :)