Spinach, pear & blue cheese soup

May 8, 2017

This soup recipe has waited more than eight years to have its moment in our home. I bookmarked it in 2008 soon after it was posted by Jac on Tinned Tomatoes, and this month it was the perfect thing for bringing together the onion, potatoes, spinach and pear that arrived in our vege box. With garlic already in the cupboard and some home-made stock in the freezer, all we had to buy was the blue cheese.

It's a simple formula that I made my tweaks to. I took my time cooking the onions down to soft caramelisation, Michael left the skin on the potatoes when he chopped them, and I retained the spinach stems too. It would all fall prey to the stick blender, after all! When that time came, my soup wasn't as gloriously green as Jac's, and I needed an extra cup of water to smooth its way.

In our khaki soup, I was surprised how easily I could pick out the pear's sweetness from the pungency of the blue cheese, and the thick carbohydrate comfort of the potatoes. It was a comfort and a pleasure; well worth the wait.

Spinach, pear & blue cheese soup
(slightly adapted from a recipe on Tinned Tomatoes)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 medium potatoes, skin on or off, roughly diced
1 bunch spinach, washed and roots removed
1 large pear, peeled, cored and diced
750mL vegetable stock
100g blue cheese
2 teaspoons vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper
extra blue cheese, cayenne, nutmeg, and/or fresh herbs to garnish

Heat the oil in a your largest saucepan over low-medium heat. Add the onion and saute it gently until soft and sweet, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until wilted. Add the pear and pour over the stock. Place a lid on the saucepan and cook for 30 minutes.

Crumble in the blue cheese and stir until melted. Season with Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Blend until smooth with a stick blender. Pour into bowls, garnish and serve.

The Snug Public House III

May 7, 2017

Edit 26/10/2019: The Snug has closed its doors. In its place is The Bergy Seltzer.

The Snug has been promising weekend breakfasts ever since they introduced their vegan menu last year, and they debuted mornings this month! Sharp-eyed Michael noticed it from the street within two hours of opening but I kept him waiting further 23 before letting him loose on the Big Breakie ($19). This is an enormous shallow bowl with sourdough toast and margarine, two rashers of the best streaky facon, a Tofurky sausage, scrambled silken tofu, grilled mushrooms, a golden hash brown, tub of baked beans, and bonus unlisted grilled cherry tomatoes. Michael attacked it with gusto, saw the meal through, and skipped lunch entirely as a consequence.

I took a little more time to choose than Michael. Fruit toast excepted, the menu is all savoury, and it's dominated by carbs and mock meats. On another day I'd be drawn to the Facon Butty or the BLAT; there's also Bacon and Eggs (facon and scrambled tofu) for those who like to mock the simple things. But I was on the lookout for something a little lighter, and picked out the corn fritters ($16.50). While they were indeed studded with corn, the fritters were dense (perhaps based on chickpea flour or mashed potato? The Snug team have since told us they're polenta-based) and almost certainly deep-fried (actually grilled). They sat atop a generous portion of avocado, and were garnished with a cheery fresh tomato salsa. The side of lemon-dressed baby kale and spiralised veges looked intimidating and chewy but was actually terrific.

On that basis, I'd assume that nothing on the menu qualifies as 'light'. Really, it's as we should expect from an Irish pub whether it's vegan or not: hearty fry-ups best enjoyed the morning after a night sampling their beers or, in Michael's case, after an early morning bird-watching on an empty stomach.

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You can also read about one, two dinners we've eaten at the Brunswick Snug.

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The Snug Public House
68 Sydney Rd, Brunswick
9388 8756
standard breakfast, vegan breakfast
http://thesnugpublichouse.com/

Accessibility: The interior is crowded, with a mix of tables and high seats at the bar. The courtyard has bench seats and stools. We ordered at our table and paid at the high bar.

The Tramway Hotel II

April 30, 2017

We used to love The Tramway Hotel, it had fancy burgers with vegan options, an open fire and relaxed vibes. The pub changed hands a few years ago and shifted direction slightly, but we'd heard good things about the new menu and have been meaning to go for ages. On Sunday arvo we had the perfect excuse - our friend's band Crop Top were playing a gig, meaning we could combine punk rock and vegan junk food.

The menu is very veg-friendly, with a couple of vegan burgers and a vego one, heaps of sides and a vegan sundae for dessert. We went a bit crazy and ordered way too much food. Cindy couldn't resist the vegan mac and cheese ($12) and friends recommended the vegan mushroom poutine ($16). Foolishly, we also ordered a vegan whipper burger ($15) and the chipotle fried brussel sprouts with lime and coriander aioli ($12 - we weren't sure if the aioli was vegan or not).

The poutine was out of control, with fat chips slathered in a chunky mushroom gravy and heaps of grated vegan cheese. The mac and cheese was super creamy - I'd have kicked it up a notch with some hot sauce, but we still managed to plow our way through it all. The whipper reminded me more of a Big Mac than a Whopper (although it's more than a decade since I've eaten either) - the bean and mushroom patty was ace, and the pickle, onion, lettuce and special sauce were perfect fast food accompaniments. The sprouts were a welcome serve of veggies, with a tangy, spicy aioli - they weren't quite as well roasted as I'd have liked, but they still did the job.

The Tramway's new(ish) incarnation is just as successful as the old one - the food is junkier (in a good way), with superb vegan options. There's a great range of craft beers, a steady stream of local bands playing gigs and a good vibe about the place - it's a brilliant local pub and one we'll be visiting again soon.

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Read about our visit to the old version of The Tramway here. The only blogger who's reviewed the Tramway since it changed hands is The Lentil Institution, who loved it.

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The Tramway Hotel
165 Rae St, Fitzroy North
9489 6100
menu, specials
http://www.tramwayhotel.com.au/

Accessibility: There's a small step and a fairly narrow door as you go in, but plenty of space inside. Ordering and payment occurs at the high bar. The toilets are outside through a fairly narrow courtyard, and not particularly roomy.

Chimichurri tempeh empanadas with mint-onion relish

April 29, 2017

We chose these Street Vegan empanadas as a cooking project last weekend. They're certainly a commitment: there's pastry dough to make, a chimichurri spice paste to saute the tempeh filling in, a sweet paprika-spiked glaze, some slightly fiddly assembly and a relish on the side. We made it a team effort.

There were a couple of recipe tweaks along the way, making the most of the sweeteners we had on hand and cooking down the onions a long time to make the relish sweeter still. The pastry has an unusual addition of silken tofu and is a huge bother to roll. I must admit that it baked up awfully well, though - a bit of crunch, a bit of crumble and a lot of toasty comfort. The glaze added some welcome brightness of colour and flavour to the hearty pastries, but there was far too much of it and I've reduced the quantity accordingly in the recipe below.

I feel ambivalent about these empanadas - they're very enjoyable, but their flavour isn't as complex as the range of ingredients that make them up. They take a lot of time and a fair number of dishes. I'll admit, though, that they entitled me to plenty of smugness when I toasted leftovers in the sandwich grill at work on Monday.

Chimichurri tempeh empanadas with mint-onion relish
(slightly adapted from a recipe in Adam Sobel's Street Vegan)

pastry
3 cups plain flour, plus more for dusting
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
3/4 cup margarine
3 tablespoons pureed silken tofu

relish
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 medium sour pickle, finely chopped
1/4 cup mint leaves, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon barley malt syrup
1/2 teaspoon tamari
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

filling
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 cup parsley, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoons pickled jalapenos, minced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
300g packet tempeh, crumbled
1/3 cup carrot, grated

glaze
1 tablespoon fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons soy milk
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons agave nectar
pinch of ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

Begin with the dough. Place the flour, salt, coriander and chilli flakes into a large food processor. Process them for 10-20 seconds to mix the dry ingredients well. Blend in the margarine, then the tofu, then 1/4 cup cold water, until just combined. Turn the mixture onto a sheet of plastic wrap and gather it together into ball. Wrap the dough up and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes.

Next, prepare the relish. Pour the oil into a frypan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute them until soft and sweet, about 20 minutes. Add the garlic and pickle, sauteing for a couple more minutes. Turn down the heat and stir in the mint, malt syrup, tamari and vinegar. Cook just until the mint has wilted, then turn off the heat completely and transfer the relish the another container.

Time to make the filling. In a spice grinder or blender, briefly blend together the oregano, parsley, garlic, jalapeno, vinegar, pepper, salt and 1/3 cup olive oil. Aim to mix everything together but let the texture of the chimichurri remain a little chunky.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the frypan previously used for the relish. Add the tempeh and carrots and saute them for about 4 minutes, until the tempeh begins to brown. Pour over the chimichurri mixture and stir it through, cooking for another 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the filling to cool to room temperature.

To make the glaze, whisk together all of the ingredients in a small bowl.

When you're ready to assemble the empanadas, preheat an oven to 180°C. Line a large baking tray with paper.

Lightly flour a clean bench, and use it to roll out the pastry dough to 2-3mm thick. Cut the dough into 10cm-diameter circles using a biscuit cutter, large glass or similar. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons of filling onto each pastry circle. Dribble a bit of water around the perimeter of the dough, and fold it into a semi-circle, crimping the edges together with a fork. Repeat with the remaining pastry circles, and pull together the pastry scraps to roll again and make some more. Transfer the empanadas to the baking tray; poke a few air holes with a fork and brush them generously with the glaze. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.

Serve the empanadas with the mint-onion relish on the side.

Kines

April 29, 2017

We've become pretty lazy Brunswick brunchers lately, more often than not stumbling around the corner to the ever-reliable Wide Open Road. This weekend though we decided to try to recapture our more adventurous spirit and check out somewhere new. I'd been meaning to visit Kines ever since Keeden left Sonido to open it up. It's a nicely renovated warehouse space just off Sydney Road - they've made it comfy without going over the top, meaning there's a kind of ramshackle charm to the fit-out.

The menu is full of interesting options - pickled beetroot sandwiches, vegan-friendly toasties, kim chi pancakes, creamed corn and more. It's pretty vegan-friendly by default and they're happy to tweak things on most dishes to cater for dietary requirements. The link to Sonido is strong, with arepas popping up across the menu.

The coffee (using Seven Seeds beans) is fabulous, but Cindy was more excited by the possibility of ordering a Milo ($4). It turned out to be a massive jar of milk with a ludicrous amount of Milo in it - almost a meal in itself.

Food-wise I went with a vegan option, a cold soba noodle salad with an avocado and sesame dressing, cherry tomatoes, spring onions, cucumber, gamasio, black sesame and baby spinach ($16) plus a side of their house-pickled chilli ($2).

This was a great reminder that I really love soba noodles (I had the same experience at The Glass Den). These were particularly impressive with the creamy avocado dressing carrying a nice, strong sesame flavour and the cucumber and tomato providing bursts of crunch and freshness. It might have been a little plain on its own - I'd definitely recommend the chilli for a bit of added punch (or you could add kim chi instead, which would work brilliantly I'd guess).

Cindy was a bit disappointed by the lack of sweet options on the offer, settling for the Kines muesli (puffed quinoa, puffed rice, roasted seeds and nuts, dried figs, gojis plus fresh strawberries and pear, $13), with a scoop of Coyo ($2). The gluten-free blend is crunchy and nutty and felt less filling than oats, and Cindy appreciated the fresh fruits too.

We were really impressed with Kines. Its menu has a few departures from the standard offerings, there's great coffee and a lovely vibe. It's especially nice to go somewhere on a Saturday morning and feel like it's okay to sit and take your time over your meal. We'll definitely be back.

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We couldn't find any blog reviews of Kines as yet.

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Kines
11 Hope St, Brunswick
0401 666 229
menus: one, two
facebook page

Accessibility: The entryway was flat and the interior was reasonably spacious, with a mix of high and low tables. There's table service and then you pay your bill at a low counter. We didn't visit the toilets.