Potato Gratin ~ vegan

It's getting cold and everyone in France seems to be getting into their baked cheese dishes in a big way. Well I love comfort food too so had a go making my own potato gratin (flavoursome potatoes are key).
Ingredients listed by quanity, but not exact quantities, are as follows :
Good waxy potatoes
Cashew cream (or other thick cream may work)
Nutritional yeast
White Miso
Dried shallots
Sea salt
Garlic powder
Cumin powder
Turmeric powder
Drizzled with olive oil and scattered with walnuts.
There were no leftovers; I scoffed the lot!

Carrot Cake ~ vegan

Recipe by Alison Andrews (Loving it Vegan). Photo of my first attempt. Tasted wonderful, great texture. Pity icing curdled a little with lemon juice. 

For the Carrot Cake:

• 2 cups (250g) All Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Ground Nutmeg
• 2 and 1/3 cups (255g) Grated Carrot
• 1 and 1/2 cups (300g) Brown Sugar
• 2 Flax Eggs (2 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed Meal with 6 Tbsp Water)
• 1/2 cup (120ml) Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 cup (100g) Chopped Walnuts (Optional)

For the Lemon Buttercream Icing:

• 3 and 3/4 cups (450g) Powdered (Confectioners) Sugar
• 3 Tbsp Vegan Butter
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 3–4 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

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INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to  180°C (350°F).
2. Grease cake tin / tins and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg into a mixing bowl.
4. Add the grated carrot and the brown sugar.
5. Prepare the flax eggs, by mixing 2 Tbsp Flaxseed Meal with 6 Tbsp Water and allowing to sit for a minute.
6. In the meantime, add the oil, vanilla and apple cider vinegar to the mixing bowl.
7. Add the flax eggs.
8. Mix everything together in the mixing bowl. Have a little patience and let the batter sit for a minute or two so that the carrots can release more water into the batter to enable you to mix it all together.
9. *If your batter is still too dry to mix after letting it sit for a couple of minutes (and only if it’s too dry to mix after sitting for a few minutes) then add in a little non-dairy milk, only as much as you need to get the batter to a wet enough consistency so that it can mix properly.
10. Lastly add the chopped walnuts if you want to add them.
11. Divide the mixture between the two small cake tins or leave in one larger tin.
12. Place into the oven and bake for 30 minutes for small cakes, up to 50 mins for large cake, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
13. Allow the cakes to cool completely on a cooling rack.
14. While the cakes are cooling, prepare your icing.
15. Add the powdered sugar, vegan butter, vanilla, apple cider vinegar and 3 Tbsp of lemon juice to an electric mixer bowl.
16. Start mixing on low speed.
17. If your icing is too thick then add in more lemon juice a drop at a time as needed to get your icing mix to the perfect consistency. If your icing ends up too thin, add more powdered sugar.
18. Add icing to the top of one of the layers.
19. Add the other layer on top and complete the icing of the top and sides of the cake.
20. Sprinkle crushed walnuts on top of the cake and serve.

Spinach and potato gozleme ~ vegan

for the pastry but I cheated and used a rolled out pizza base we had - we are here on holiday with limited kitchen supplies. Filling is sauteed leek, frozen spinach heated to evaporate some water, dried dill weed and yesterday's boiled potatoes, peeled and smashed, salt. Served with squeeze of lemon. Simple but good thanks to good quality vegetables.

Korean Noodle Salad (Salad Guksu)

recipe by Lee MinJung. Photo by me.

• Soba noodles 2 bundles
• Cabbage or lettuce 5 leaves cut into 5cm lengths
• Cucumber 1 medium cut into 5cm lengths
• Carrot 1/2 cut into 5cm lengths
• Cherry tomatoes 10, each cut in half
• Tempeh marinated 

SAUCE

3 Tablespoons light soy sauce

3 Tablespoons vinegar

3 Tablespoons  lemon juice

3 Tablespoons sugar or other sweetener

1/2 Tablespoon vegetarian oyster sauce

1 Tablespoon crushed garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons wasabi

1 Tablespoon chilli powder

1 Tablespoon sesame oil

Combine ingredients for sauce. Blend well and refrigerate.

Blanch noodles in boiling water, then rinse under cold running water. Drain well.

Mix noodles with sauce and half the veggies and tempeh. Use hands to ensure thorough mix.

Garnish with remaining veggies and tempeh, serve.

Du Bu Jo Rim - Fried tofu in lightly spicy Korean sauce

recipe by Lee MinJung. Photo and drawing by me.

Devilled Sausages ~ vegan

 6-8 vegan sausages
2 Tbsp neutral oil
2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced
2 cups veg stock
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp fruity chutney or pickle
2 Tbsp dijon mustard
2 Tbsp soft brown sugar
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp tamarind sauce
1 tsp soy sauce or tamari
Pinch ground cloves
¼ tsp cayenne pepper, or more to taste
2 tsp thyme leaves
salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Cook in a heavy-based frypan over medium heat or in an oven preheated to 200˚C fanbake until browned all over.

While sausages are cooking, heat oil in a large pot, add onions to the pan and cook over medium-low heat until onions are very soft and starting to brown (12 minutes).

Stir in all remaining ingredients except sausages and simmer gently over low heat for 15 minutes. Add browned sausages and simmer another 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve hot.

TIP
You can also make this meal in a slow cooker.

Bibimbap again (vegan)

It is one of my favourite meals. Traditionally it has meat and/or egg too but just like Koreans make it seasonal, I adjust protein and veggies to suit what's available (can include mushrooms, spinach, beansprouts etc, often sauuteed or steamed then drizzled with a little seasame oil). Always have some greens and the hot sauce : 

Gochujang hot sauce for bibimbap

4 tablespoons gochujang (Korean red hot pepper paste)
2 tablespoons sesame oil.
2 tablespoons brown sugar/alternative (or nashi pear, pureed).
1 tablespoon soy sauce.
1 tablespoon water.
2 teaspoons rice vinegar.
2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Mousse au chocolat liégeoises (vegan)

For 4 adults  (filling!)

Recipe and impressive photo from Bible Vegan by Marie Laforet. Less impressive photo my first effort!
170g dark chocolate
1 Tablespoon of coconut oil
50g icing sugar / caster sugar
400g silken tofu
Chantilly of coconut cream*

Melt chocolate in a bain marie (in a metal bowl above pot of simmering water). Remove from heat,  mix with the coconut oil and sugar, then with well -chilled tofu. Mix with a hand mixer to incorporate air -she says a good 5 minutes, I tried to but thought the consistency was good before that and over mixed,  will try less next time. Divide between 4 glasses and refrigerate for 4 hours. Cover with the coconut chantilly cream just before serving.

*Coconut Chantilly cream
Chill a 400g tin of coconut CREAM overnight if possible or in the freezer for a while (not too long or it could explode) then in the fridge. Also chill a mixing bowl and beater whisks. The thick cream floats to the top of tin and hardens. Scrape this into chilled bowl and whip with beater.