let them eat bread (lasagna) June 9, 2009

if you’re anything like me, you always have masses of bread sitting around that gets thrown out (thank you crispy inn!). it seems like i have to dispose of half a loaf of bread at least once a week! such a shame! one yummy thing to do with bread is bread and butter pudding. another winter fave is croutons. but there’s only so far that will take you!

when i saw the rustic bread and eggplant lasagna on vegan yum yum i was quite excited! i never make lasagna because a) i am too lazy to make my own pasta sheets, b) i never have the pre-made pasta sheets in my cupboard, c) the once occasion i DID have them it took me literally three months to get around to creating lasagna.

inspired by ben’s fabbo efforts at making “meaty” lasagna a couple of weeks ago, the addition of cheese sauce was a must for my culinary satisfaction. contrary to my expectation, the bread didn’t go soggy at all! i used quite a thick tomato sauce which presumably helped.

lazy bread lasagna

ingredients

• stale bread (about half a loaf of the nice crusty stuff)
• a big eggplant or two
• olive oil (plenty!)
• two cans tomato (diced or crushed)
• a brown onion
• half a head of garlic
• “italian” herbs (basil, thyme, oregano, etc)
• one cup white flour
• three big desert spoons of nuttlex / vegan margarine
• two cups soy milk
• one cup nutritional yeast flakes
• two desert spoons tahini
• a teaspoon of mustard (not the seedy type)
• juice of half a lemon
• salt (to taste)
• some fried garlic (optional)
• cracked pepper

equipment

• shallow baking pan
• large deep fry pan
• saucepan
• lasagne dish (i used a square one)
• chopping board and knife
• veggie peeler (if you like)

this takes a little co-ordination, so it’s good to have a little think about how long things take so it all comes together!

1. pre-heat oven to 180 degrees.peel the skin off the eggplant/s – i like to leave it on – and slice the eggplant into 1cm-ish slices. dizzle in oil and place in the baking pan. bake for 20 mins or so.

2. dice the onion and saute in some olive oil until translucent. add in the garlic and herbs, and saute for a further 2 minutes. mix in the two cans of tomato and simmer on a low heat. the aim is to reduce the sauce until it’s nice and thick.

3. whilst the tomato sauce simmers, it’s time to make some “cheesy” white sauce! melt the margarine in a saucepan. sift in the flour. it will look really lumpy and thick – this is ok!

4. add the soy milk, half a cup at a time, stirring constantly. let the mixture slowly heat up and combine before adding more milk. don’t panic – it’ll come together just nicely!

5. once the soy milk is combined, add in the nutritional yeast flakes. you may need to use the back of the wooden spoon to crush any large bits into the mixture.

6. stir in the mustard, tahini, lemon juice and salt. adjust salt to taste. once the sauce reaches the desired thickness (should be pourable, but not runny), take it off the heat.

7. by now the eggplant should be baked thoroughly. take it out of the oven and let it sit for five minutes. in the meantime, slice the bread into 1cm slices. now we’re ready to get layering!

8. spread a thin layer of tomato over the bottom of the pan, and cover with a layer of bread. try and cover most the the pan – you may need to cut some bread slices in half to make them fit better.

9. spread another layer of the tomato sauce and cover with eggplant slices.

10. repeat, layering tomato sauce, then bread, then the last of the tomato and the remaining eggplant. if you are a garlic fiend like me, sprinkle some fried garlic over the last layer of eggplant.

11. cover the lasagne with the cheese sauce. don’t be shy – make it nice and thick! sprinkle with cracked pepper for a little extra kick. bake for half an hour, or until the top is nice and crispy.

12. serve and enjoy!

variations:

• breads – this would work nicely with any sort of crusty bread, sourdough or pumpkin loaf is what i’d like to try next.
• add some different veggies – baked capsicum, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes or whole tomato slices
• crush some nuts (e.g. pine nuts or almonds) and sprinkle on top of the cheese sauce for a crunchy topping
  
• add herbs / spices to the cheese sauce for an extra lift!

it’s always time for soup! June 4, 2009

inspired by the lovely pip, i made a hearty minty soup! her’s was from the handy vegan on a shoestring, a book i don’t personally own but have perused on a few occasions.

luckily  i had a huge bunch of garden fresh mint. alas, i was sorely lacking in other ingredients.  instead of chickpeas i used black dahl lentils which had been soaking overnight, i had no mushies, and the only greens in the fridge were a couple of bok choy bulbs.

despite this, it turned out fabulously (although a little salty says steph). the kick of lime really set it off for me. lime and mint are just natural friends!

minty winter warmer

ingredients:

• one onion, diced
• 6 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2 cups soaked black lentils, rinsed
• 3 medium potatoes, cubed
• two bok choy bulbs, thinly sliced
• one lemon or lime
• half cup chopped mint
• teaspoon of cumin (maybe more?)
• 4 cups vegetable stock

this is so simple to make! saute the onions, throw in the garlic and cumin. add in the bok choy and lentils, and stir the flavours through.

pour in the veggie stock, the potatoes, and chopped mint. bring to the boil, then simmer for a half hour or so (until the taters and lentils are nicely mushy). when it’s cooked through to your satisfaction, stir in the juice on the lemon / lime and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

[this is a good juncture at which to warm some bread.]

voila! tuck in!

as a side note, all this miserable weather is a fabulous excuse to rug-up inside and cook, cook, cook!

NOTE:

upon re-reading pip’s post, it seems i left out the vital “creaminess/cheesyness” of nutritional yeast flakes! argh! was still tasty!

my dear basil May 18, 2009

as the warmer weather disappears, we begin to mourn the end of the basil season. i know that we’re supposed to appreciate each season for it’s diversity of produce, and the cooking combinations this provides, BUT i really love basil! i try and use it in everything – stir fries, pasta sauces, gnocchi, salads, sandwiches, and most of all, pesto!

i was taught to make pesto by my father, whom himself is famous within our extended family for the tasty pesto he produces every year for family gatherings. the best part of pesto is the brilliant simplicity of it! just good fresh ingredients which tantalise the taste-buds. quite a simple one to vegan-ise as well.

because the recipe already contains pine nuts, it’s got a natural creaminess that’s unaided by cows cheese. in the absence of parmesan cheese, a little extra garlic will give this pesto nice “bite”, and some nutritional yeast flakes add to the “cheesy-ness”.

i am guessing about quantities of liquids, so really have a play around and get a feel for the taste that you prefer. i’m a salt fiend, so i always go a little crazy with it and need to add a little extra tahini and lemon juice to balance it out.

garden fresh ingredients (thanks anya!):

basil pesto

ingredients

• large bunch of fresh basil, rinsed
• one head of garlic
• good quality olive oil, as required
• 3 tablespoons tahini
• half a cup of pine nuts
• salt and black pepper to taste
• juice of a medium sized lemon
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes

to make:

1. peel garlic and place in food processor. cover with olive oil and blend into a paste.
2. add in all the basil leaves, a little more olive oil, and whizz again.
3. place the tahini, lemon juice, pine nuts and nutritional yeast flakes into the mix, and blend until combined. it should look quite chunky, but thickly pourable. carefully add little bits of oil until you achieve the right consistency.
4. add salt and pepper to taste.
5. eat immediately, or transfer into an airtight container (jars are good for this) and refrigerate. if you plan to store it for a while, pour a very thin layer of oil over the top to help maintain freshness.

ways to serve:

1. on hot pasta or gnocchi.
2. as a pasta salad.
3. on yummy crusty bread – as an entree, a snack or with other toppings (e.g. garlic mushrooms or baked beans)
4. as part of an anti-pasto platter with grilled eggplant, olives, tofetta, etc

tea tales. May 14, 2009

i recently purchased an amazing tea cup and saucer for $3! so beautiful, so sleek, so much room for my tea:

i just cannot get over the capacity of this tea cup! it’s not one of those soup bowls disguised as a tea cup (although i am quite partial to them as well), but a genuine tea cup with a depth of 8cm and a diameter measuring 10cm. so great!

this has inspired me to:

a) drink more tea and hot chocolate (perhaps the cold weather has something to do with this too);

b) organise my (pathetically small) tea collection;

c) expore a zine i acquired many moons ago at sticky in melbourne titled herbs and what they can do (made by esther for the melbourne uni food co-op).

this zine combines a few of my favourite thing: botany, cute zines and food co-operatives! what is better than people mobilising around food? de nada! i have also been having “lung issues” for quite a while, and i’m keen to explore non-medicinal means of health improvement.

some herbs this zine recommends for lung healing:

• elderflower – aids mucous clearance, especially in the upper respiratory tract
• angelica – strengthens and supports the lungs
• warm concoctions including ginger, garlic and cinnamon
• nettle – helps with convalescence (recovering from illness) and general run-down-ness. also a great source of iron and vitamin c!
• rosehip – gives loads of vitamin c and helps prevent colds

write to me if you want some knowledge from this little book of herbs and i shall attempt to dish out the goods.

i am heading over to alfalfa house this weekend to get my hands on some of these. in the meantime my as-yet-unnamed tea cup will continue to get a workout:

(those are ginger cookies in the pics)