April 20, 2009: Leftover makeover - Thai coconut soup

The clever guests at our Vegan Indian Potluck knew not to fill up on bland staples while there was such an abundance of vibrant curries (and pastries!) on offer. So, at the end of the night, we found ourselves with leftover curry to feed one, a big saucepan of dried-out rice, and a last unopened packet of roti. (There were also a number of mushrooms, leftover from pizza, slumbering in the fridge.) With a wisp of winter in the air, I planned a big pot of soup filled out with rice; if I could track down a Thai or Indian-inspired number, then the roti would make a perfect side!

Our Moosewood cookbook's been sitting neglected for a while (Chinese-style bbq sauce recipe excepted), yet it almost instantly provided an answer when I opened it - a Thai-style soup with mushrooms, tofu, lemongrass stock and coconut milk. I took the author's advice and doubled the quantity of stock, freezing half of it for later. I took some liberties, though, regarding rice and spice. The recipe didn't include any rice but I happily up-ended 2-3 cups of it into the simmering soup. While Moosewood recipes are often verdant with herbs, they're a little timid with the spices; I increased their pinch of cayenne to several rigorous shakes.

The result was just was we (and our over-burdened fridge) needed - smooth and filling, with that Thai team of heat, sweetness, limey tang and a touch of salt. But it's not quite a match for Lucy's tofu in lemongrass broth.


Thai coconut soup
(based on a recipe in Moosewood Restaurant New Classics)

lemongrass stock
6 cups water
3 fresh lemongrass stalks, coarsely chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 leek or onion, coarsely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
6cm piece fresh ginger, sliced
1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds

soup
1 x 400mL can coconut milk
2 tablespoons lime juice
cayenne pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
200g firm tofu, sliced into cubes
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
2-3 cups cooked basmati rice
1 tablespoon fresh coriander, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the stock, put all the ingredients in a large saucepan, bring them to the boil, then cover and simmer them for 35 to 45 minutes. Drain the vegetables from the stock, squeezing them to get as much liquid as possible.

For the soup, return the stock to the saucepan and add the coconut milk, lime juice, cayenne and turmeric. Bring it to a simmer before adding the tofu, mushrooms, rice, coriander and salt then cook for 3 to 5 minutes.

Serve the soup garnished with extra coriander leaves.

April 18, 2009: Idea Fine Food and Wine

Michael and I crammed our Comedy Festival experience into one weekend. Booking four shows over two nights, one dinner at Lord of the Fries seemed compulsory. For the other we picked out a slightly special Chinatown restaurant, Idea Fine Food and Wine, from the Melbourne Veg Food Guide; I had a small success at work to celebrate.

From the outside, I wouldn't distinguish Idea from the myriad Asian restaurants in the neighbourhood. However it's elegantly fitted out (though a bit noisy when full) and has a specially dedicated menu page of vegetarian entrees and mains; what surprised us most on entering was their extensive list of wines and other alcoholic drinks.

The Veg Food Guiders raved about the vegetarian 'Szechuan' eggplant hot pot ($19), and we didn't think twice about ordering it. It arrived promptly and sizzling, full of meltingly soft vegetables. I ate around the chunks of red chilli and enjoyed a mild spiciness; Michael cleaned his plate and felt the heat.

It's difficult to imagine why the Veg Food Guiders didn't similarly exalt the spicy bean curd ($18.80, pictured top - perhaps the reviewer was vegan and the batter, egg-based). The silky-soft tofu had a crisp-battered shell and was seasoned with a most swoon-worthy spicy salt. The plate offers extra shards of batter and crispy-fried onions, just the thing to spark duelling chopsticks when the tofu's gone.

I'm not sure how the Food Guiders stumbled across Idea Fine Food and Wine amongst the bewildering local array of Asian restaurants but I'm grateful that they did. The terrific tofu alone could easily lure me away from the Chinese mock meats that are my vice.

Update 10/5/10: Idea Fine Food and Wine has closed its doors. We're going to spend the rest of our days yearning for that eggplant.

Address: 146-148 Little Bourke St, Melbourne CBD
Ph: 9663 8829
Fully licensed
Price: veg entrees $5.80-$8.80, mains $14.80-$19, rice extra

April 16, 2009: Kaju Katli

When Steph mentioned that she and her partner D were visiting Melbourne from Perth, I offered to host a vegan potluck in our flat. I was a little anxious about how we'd all fit, but once we pushed all the furniture to the walls and filled our biggest saucepans with curry it was clear that there'd be no problems. Michael and I had proposed an Indian theme and as our guests arrived the table was progressively stacked with onion bhaji, spiced peanuts, stuffed capsicums, chutneys and raita, curries, samosas and roti. Michael chipped in with spiced new potatoes (actually Sri Lankan) and spiced chickpeas, while I fussed over the crockery and mixed up a jug of Indian-style lemonade.

These potlucks usually lead to as much sweet gluttony as savoury but this theme had its limitations - many Indian desserts are milk-based (such as my beloved kulfi and rice pudding, and the super-sugary gulab jamun). Nevertheless, Pip demonstrated that vegan kheer is possible, while Kristy prepared some vegan-friendly carrot halwa. I had a shot at kaju katli, a sweet that I spotted on Vegan Yum Yum some months ago. Even without dairy, it managed to include some of my favourite Indian ingredients - ground cashews and cardamom, flavoured and bound with sugar, salt and water.

I prepared the kaju katli the night before the potluck, with some difficulty. Once all the ingredients have boiled together in a saucepan you're supposed to pour it onto oiled foil and knead it "until glassy" (whatever that means). Obviously anything involving boiled sugar needs to cool before you touch it, so I plonked it onto a foil-lined board and gave it some time. It was during this time that the mixture attached itself quite firmly to the foil. The foil ripped and the cashews clung and I really wasn't sure where to knead the mixture that I had managed to unhinge. There wasn't a lot of mixture anyway, and the amount I could handle was diminishing by the second!

Eventually I came upon a solution - oil spray. I sprayed it on the board, on my hands, and on the paper-lined baking tray I dumped the mixture into. (If I did this again, I'd skip the foil and spray oil into a large mixing bowl, where I'd do my kneading.) I even sprayed the back of the spoon I used to smooth over the cashews once they were in the baking pan. That was when it achieved a smooth, glossy surface and I decided that I must have done something right. After scattering some sugar sprinkles and popping it in the fridge overnight, it was a breeze to slice and serve. The small volume wasn't a big drama - an itsy piece is plenty to round out a meal of potatoes and pastry.

(Steph & Pip have also recounted the evening on their blogs.)

Kaju Katli
(based on a recipe at Vegan Yum Yum, who cites Saffron Hut)

1 cup cashews, raw and unsalted
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 pinch salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
coloured sprinkles or edible foil (optional)

Use a food processor to grind the cashews to a fine powder. Mix in the cardamom and salt.

Stir together the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring them to the boil. Add the cashews and stir the mixture well. Cook for a further 5 minutes, until the mixture has thickened.

Lightly spray a large mixing bowl with oil and pour in the cashew mixture. Allow it to cool until you can handle it; spray your hands with oil and lightly knead the mixture until it forms a ball.

Line a small baking tray or loaf tin with paper and spray it with oil. Plonk in the cashew dough and smooth it down with the oil-sprayed back of a spoon. Decorate with sprinkles or edible foil if you're using them. Refrigerate the mixture until firm, then slice it into diamonds before serving.

April 9-13, 2009: Easter eats

Like Christmas, Easter was a time of sharing recipes and restaurants we already know and love.

• On Thursday night, I bought my brother a late pub meal at the East Brunswick Club after he made the nerve-wracking drive south from Tumut;
• On Friday, Carol brought over a bottle of red and I cranked out some pizzas. We finished up with icecream.
• Dinner on Friday night was at Sue's, where my Dad and his wife were staying. While they generously catered, I delivered an Easter package of golden bars, grubs and carrot cake biscuits.
• On Sunday night I cooked a comforting 'meat'-and-veg meal for brother Liam, featuring vegan sausage rolls; he was oblivious to his first ingestion of tofu.
• Monday night? Dinner with Dad and Anne at Shakahari. The croquettes were mildly disappointing, the laksa excellent, and I finally sampled the tofu caramel:
  

While the tofu was as smooth and creamy as I'd dreamed, the electric sweetness of the candied pistachios came as a shock. A welcome one.

The rest of the weekend I worked. Reluctantly, but steadily. It would have been lonelier if it wasn't for our other houseguest, Missy:

(That's the reproachful look of a cat who knows I shouldn't be checking my Yahoo account.)

April 8, 2009: Peanut butter crumble cake

We had a student seminar scheduled for our lab just hours before everyone was due to take off for the Easter weekend. Clearly an accompanying cake would be required to lure everyone in. It had already been a week of working longish nights and spending the days sharing afternoon teas, birthday cakes, and chocolate eggs so I searched my many, many bookmarked recipes for something that didn't contain chocolate and wouldn't keep me up all night with its fiddliness. Lindyloo's recent success with a peanut butter coffee cake fit the bill. It was recent enough that I remembered how much it impressed her and I didn't bother reading her post all over again before shopping for and preparing this cake. If I had, maybe I wouldn't have done a couple of stoopid things.

First, I was all surprised when the cake batter tried to devour my electric mixer. Seriously, peeps, this is one thick cake batter. Yet it creates a surprisingly normal cake crumb. This is in spite of the other BONUS stoopid thing I did, which was to forget I was all out of baking paper until the batter was ready. This is not a great idea under any circumstances but as I understand it vegan baked goods are particularly sensitive to losing their airiness when they sit around too long. This cake batter spent some time sitting around while Michael heroically tripped down to the local IGA-no-longer. But this cake took it like a champion, with a crumb slightly lighter than banana bread, and pulled off the role of 'normal' (i.e. non-vegan) home-baked cake.

The Second Stoopid Thing I Did was to choose too small a cake tin. I can't imagine why I didn't use the pretty white baking dish that approximates the dimensions recommended in the recipe. Instead I used a much smaller square cake tin, and I was a little alarmed to discover the the peanut butter crumble almost erupting from the tin after ten minutes in the oven. But it didn't spill over, it just blackened a little around the edges and took much much longer to cook through than suggested. It didn't look like the seminar enticement I was hoping for.

Never mind. It was super-tasty: gorgeous texture, lots of peanut buttery goodness and the faintest hint of banana. Just perfect for afternoon tea.

Peanut butter crumble cake
(found at Yeah, That "Vegan" Shit, which credits Crazy Vegan Mom)

Topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup plain flour
1/4 cup peanut butter
3 tablespoons Nuttelex

Cake
2 1/4 cups plain flour
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup rice milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/4 cup Nuttelex

Preaheat the oven to 190°C. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Really! Not something smaller.

For the topping, stir the brown sugar and flour together in a medium-sized bowl. Blend in the peanut butter and Nuttelex with a fork.

In a larger bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Beat in the milk, banana, peanut butter and Nuttelex, until you have a smooth (but thick) batter.

Pour the batter into the baking pan, then crumble over the topping. Bake the cake for 30 minutes (or more, if your pan is too small), until it passes the ol' skewer test.