james test

We'd loaded up on goodies at the Queen Vic Market on Saturday and had decided that we should buy some dried black beans and then get ourselves organised enough to actually use them. Thus, by the time Monday rolled around we'd had a couple of cups of beans soaking for a good 30 hours and were ready to turn them into dinner. My first port of call for Mexican-y recipes is Ken Charney's Bold Vegetarian Chef , possibly my favourite in our cookbook collection. He didn't disappoint, providing us with a recipe for 'Beautiful black bean and avocado soup'. It all took a bit longer than I imagined it would - despite our preparedness, I didn't realise how long the pre-cooking of the beans would take. I had them simmering for about an hour, but they still ended up a little bit firmer than I'd have liked. Still, that was the only minor complaint about this meal (well, that and its lack of visual appeal). The soup had a spicy zing, complemented by the citrus tang of th...

I'm really pushing the soup agenda lately - I guess I've missed it during the warmer months. This lentil chowder was a rich and filling mush, with really strong flavours - a little spiciness, some tangy vinegar and the earthy lentils. I loved it on the night we made it, but by the time we'd gotten through the leftovers the vinegary-lemon flavours had become a bit tiresome. I'm sure the whole package would have been improved if we'd used a delicious homemade stock as the recipe recommended, instead of store-bought salty stock. In future it might be best to make it in smaller batches (or for larger crowds). Creamy red lentil chowder 1 tblsp olive oil 1 small onion, finely chopped 1 carrot, finely chopped 1 celery rib, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 bay leaf 2 tsp dried oregano 2 tsp dried basil 1 cinnamon stalk 1 large tomato, diced 1.5 cups red lentils 5 cups of vegetable stock 1 cup dry white wine 170g silken tofu 1 tblsp miso 2 tblsp lemon juice 1 tblsp...

The extraction of Cindy's wisdom teeth has meant that we've been on a liquid-food diet for the weekend. To make sure that she had food available on Friday evening, we spent Thursday night in the kitchen: she whipping up her Indian mango pudding , and me having a crack at a pumpkin soup recipe from Ken Charney's The Bold Vegetarian Chef . The recipe had a few quirks compared to regular pumpkin soup - not least the incorporation of a roasted pear. I was uncertain whether the pear was going to have any impact on the overall flavour (it was 1 smallish pear in amongst a kilo of pumpkin after all) and speculated that it may have just been a gimmick to make Ken's recipe sound exotic. It turns out I was wrong, the pear (along with a decent splash of lemon juice) added a level of unexpected sweetness to the pumpkin and shallots, to the point that this savoury option turned out to be a little on the sweet side given Cindy's limited food choices. The recipe also suggested ...

After the fun of the markets , it was back to home-cooked food on Thursday night. With some leftover risotto required for Cindy's Friday night soup plans, we scanned our various recipe books for something delicious sounding. Ken Charney came through with the goods, with an asparagus and fennel concoction. It's nothing too complicated, but the combination of fennel, asparagus and the bite of chilli and pepper made for an enjoyable meal. I've still yet to completely master the risotto cooking technique, meaning the rice ended up a tiny bit crunchier than is ideal, but this still turned out quite successfully. Asparagus and fennel risotto 1 litre vegetable stock 1 small onion, finely chopped 1 fennel bulb, chopped finely 300g asparagus, stemmed and cut into 2 inch pieces 1 red chilli, chopped finely ( with gloves on, if necessary ) 1 teaspoon sugar 1 cup arborio rice 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese 2 tablespoons butter salt and pepper Heat the stock in a medium saucep...

A quick scan of the pasta section of The Bold Vegetarain Cookbook on Tuesday morning turned up this fairly delicious sounding recipe. Cindy and I aren't averse to eating eggplant, but I don't think we'd ever roasted it before and that, along with the promise of pine nuts and cheese, was enough to make this recipe our meal for the night. Of course I didn't really read the recipe in the morning and so I was a little surprised that it all took so long to prepare. Luckily, it was mostly worth it, with the blended eggplant and capsicum sauce and the fresh oregano making for a tasty meal - of course if I'd remembered to tip the toasted pine nuts into the mix, it would probably have been even better. Penne with roasted eggplant, peppers and feta cheese* *we replaced the feta with parmesan, mainly because we had a good sized chunk of parmesan in the fridge, but I think it was probably a better flavour to combine with the other ingredients anyway. 500g eggplant (I used 3...

The recipe is another result from our typical weekday search for a recipe that'll give us both dinner and easily-packed leftovers for lunch. It's called Ziti with Walnut Pesto, Zucchini, and Red Pepper, from Ken Charney's Bold Vegetarian Chef cookbook. Michael bought a little more than the required walnuts for the pesto, so I made extra and we tested it out on crackers while we cooked the pasta: it was a little too sweet for me and the raw garlic was really intense. I'd reduce the maple syrup and roast the garlic if I made this again just for snacking. I used the pasta I bought from Mediterranean Wholesalers a while ago instead of the prescribed ziti, but otherwise stuck faithfully to Charney's recipe. In this context the sweetness and garlic of the pesto became more subtle, creating a light but creamy coating on the pasta. The zucchini and red capsicum were just the right vegetable choices, and in the future I reckon I'll reduce the quantity of pasta an...

Our swag of goodies from the Collingwood markets had me pulled in all sorts of directions for the rest of the weekend's eating. Once I'd hit upon it, I become set on the idea of preparing a series of tapas-style tasting plates for the evening. Michael was feeling lazier, but kindly chipped in anyway. Round 1: strips of home-roasted capsicum with Holy Goat silk cheese, torn basil leaves, black pepper and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. The capsicum and cheese were a perfect pair, the cheese being as smooth as the name suggests and very mild in taste. The balsamic added the acidity it needed, as did the tiny glass of iced limoncello I had on the side. A fabulous start, inspiring me to return to the kitchen for... Round 2: shitake mushrooms fried in a little butter, flavoured with garlic, chilli and parsley. I intended to buy Swiss brown mushrooms but was careless at the shops (wish we'd hit the markets before the mushroom stand closed). I found the shitakes too rubbe...

This soup was another attempt to return to something resembling healthy eating after some overly cheesy meals. We originally planned it as an accompaniment for Another Outspoken Female's millet, pumpkin and almond pilaf , but our failure to find hulled millet anywhere meant it had to stand alone. Luckily, the soup was a roaring success - one of the most flavoursome soups I've eaten, with each spoonful offering new tastes: the sharp black pepper, warm spices, rich tomatoes, tangy lemon juice, nutty lentils and crisp celery all made appearances. With some chunky bread for dipping, it was probably one of the best meals I've cooked since this blog began. Savoury harira soup (once again, adapted from a recipe in Ken Charney's Bold Vegetarian Cooking , which is fast becoming my favourite cookbook) Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan and throw in a chopped onion, a couple of chopped celery ribs, 1/2 cup of chopped parsley, a teaspoon of turmeric an...

I ate lots of candy during and after the Halloween party, resulting in a craving for something fresh to eat and plenty of excess energy with which to prepare it. We had a can of black beans in the cupboard that Michael picked up at Piedemontes , so we searched through our recipe books for something new and Mexican-themed to try. Eventually we picked out black bean tofu tacos from Ken Charney's The Bold Vegetarian Chef, extending ourselves to some salsa too. The salsa recipe is inspired by one in Kurma Dasa's World Vegetarian Food, my main alteration being to use canned chipotles and half a teaspoon of their abodo sauce. The abodo sauce adds a fantastic smoky flavour to everything it touches but packs a mighty chili punch, so its use is always a delicate balance. The black bean tofu taco filling also had a bit of bite: thus the accompanying salad of iceberg lettuce, red capsicum and avocado was a fresh and cooling contrast. I dressed the salad with a bit of pepper and lots ...

Cindy and I spent most of last week working our way through a massive, cheesy lasagne that we cooked on Monday (the lack of a relevant blog entry provides an indication or the overall success of that venture). By Thursday evening, our arteries were filled with cheese, and the only solution was a fresh, vegie-laden stir-fry. Generally, we've made up stir-fry sauces using some combination of seasonings mixed up with soy sauce and lime-juice. This time, in a concession to our food-blogger status, we opted for something more adventurous. Tamarind and chipotle sweet-hot sauce (adapted from a recipe in Ken Charney's The Bold Vegetarian Chef ) Start off by blending up 2 chipotle chillies (if they're fresh, you'll need to soak them in water first to soften them up) and a can of chopped tomatoes. Meanwhile, combine 1/2 cup cider vinegar, 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of paprika, 1/2 teaspoon of cinammon, 1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander, 1/2 a teaspoon of cumi...

Wednesday morning found us short of cooking ideas, so I flicked through the bold vegetarian cookbook over breakfast searching for some dinner options. Cindy was tired of tofu, I didn't feel like pasta and we'd just had Indian , so there weren't too many options. We settled on this tempeh tagine, mainly because we already had most of the ingredients. We were, however, lacking in tempeh . Used to the vege-friendly bounties of West End Coles in Brisbane, I assumed that the local Safeway would do the trick, but its mock-meat selection is pitiful. Luckily, Cindy checked out Allergy Block on the way to work and came up trumps, so we were ready to go. North African tempeh tagine Ingredients 2 medium carrots, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds 1/2 teaspoon black pepper corns 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds 2-4 whole cloves 1 small onion, finely chopped...

One of reasons this blog continues to be updated so frequently is the limited social lives that Cindy and I have been living in Melbourne so far. Things are gradually improving, but this morning rolled around and we realised we had nothing better to do tonight than cook. So after a quick flick through the Bold Vegetarian book , we picked out tonight's recipe and headed off to the Queen Vic Markets. Both our trips to the markets so far have been in the midst of the crazy Saturday crowds and have made the whole experience a bit trying, but the glimpses we got of the antipasto and cheeses on the deli counters mean that we'll have to find a time to return when we can browse with a bit more leisure. Anyway, onto the recipe. Roasted potatoes, chickpeas, and spinach with spicy cashew sauce Ingredients 1 kilogram small red potatoes, scrubbed and quartered 1/4 cup peanut oil 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon fennel seeds 1 tablespoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon turmeric 1 cinammon stick 1 med...

Even though we had takeaway for dinner on Sunday night, we didn’t completely slack off on cooking. While Michael was picking up our spicy dinners in Fitzroy, I was spicing up a tofu marinade for Monday night’s dinner. The recipe was our first test of “The Bold Vegetarian Chef” and the recipe did promise bold flavours, as I mixed together caraway seeds, fenugreek, lemon juice, tamarind paste, coriander, garlic, mustard, turmeric, sugar and Tabasco sauce with yoghurt and a bit of olive oil. This concoction got smeared all over some firm tofu cubes and refrigerated overnight. In the morning I rotated the tofu bits to make sure all surfaces were flavoured. The sauce, which we prepared on Monday night, was a raita-like mix of cucumber, coriander, red onion, garlic, salt and pepper with lots more yoghurt. It was a simple but messy job to line up the tofu cubes on skewers, then fry them. I guess the point of the skewers is to make turning the tofu a bit quicker, but Michael found it no ...