SPINACH PESTO PASTA

in need of an iron boost i decided lunch would involve a hefty whack of spinach! (plus i had some fresh spinach in the fridge that i wanted to use so it was a win-win). pasta is always a popular choice - so here is my recipe for vegan spinach pesto pasta - perfect for lunch or dinner served with a glass of vegan red wine.

how?

350 grams of pasta (i choose cappelletti since i had an open packet)

3 cups of fresh spinach leaves

1/4 cup of pine nuts or sunflower seeds

2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast flakes

3 tablespoons of evoo*

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

salt and pepper 

1/4 cup of basil leaves

cook your pasta of choice in a pot of boiling water until al dente, drain. whilst your pasta is cooking combine the spinach, basil, pine nuts or sunflower seeds, nutritional yeast, evoo, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a food processor and blitz until it forms a smooth paste. mix through the cooked pasta and serve - healthy, vegan, gloriously green and delicious!

* evoo = extra virgin olive oil 

VEGAN MICROWAVE FLAPJACKS

i have to admit that living without an oven is becoming a bit of a drag! in order to get around this little inconvenience, i have started to explore the possibilities of microwave ‘baking’. following my first success – being the vegan mug brownie – i have gained a little more confidence and thought to myself: “why not give microwave biscuits a go?!” – so here are some tasty vegan flapjacks that are easy-peasy to prepare and taste great!

how?

75g vegan margarine

5 tablespoons of brown sugar

2 tablespoons of golden syrup

150g quick-cooking oats

50g sultanas

50g dried cranberries, chopped

50g dried apricots, chopped

combine the marg, brown sugar and golden syrup in a microwave safe bowl. cook on high for 1-2 minutes, or until the margarine has melted. add in the oats, sultanas, cranberries + apricots, mix thoroughly to combine.

2.

press the mix into a small greased (microwave safe) baking dish. cook on high for roughly 5 minutes, or until the center is bubbling. allow the flapjacks to cool, cut them into squares, and get stuck in! healthy, vegan, oven-free and delicious!

makes 12 squares

note: you may want to cut up your dried fruit quite finely so the final product is not so crumbly! 

MILLET + CHICKPEA 'VEGGIE' BURGERS

i needed to find a use for the millet that i excitedly bought in manor foods last weekend - and burgers sounded like a great idea... here is the recipe i used to whip up some tasty, heathy, vegan millet burgers that will leave you wanting more!

how?

3/4 cup of uncooked millet

1 cup of chickpeas (soaked overnight and precooked), mashed

1 cup of finely grated carrot

1/4 cup of finely diced onion

1/2 sunflower seeds, roughly chopped

2-3 tablespoons of corn flour (dissolved in a tiny bit of warm water)

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/4 fresh coriander, finely chopped

1 teaspoon of chilli powder

salt and pepper to season

to cook the millet add it to a dry pot over high heat and stir constantly for 3-4 minutes until fragrant and the millet is 'popping' (being careful not to burn it!). once toasted, add 1/2 cup of boiling water. bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cover. cook until all liquid has absorbed (roughly 20-25 minutes). remove from the heat and leave to stand, keeping it covered, for 5 minutes. uncover and ‘fluff’ the millet with a fork.

combine the cooked chickpeas, garlic, coriander and chilli powder. add to the cooled millet. add the finely grated carrot, onion and sunflower seeds. season and add the corn flour mix 1 tablespoon at a time until the mix holds together. form the burgers using 1/4 cup of the mixture and fry in a little oiled frying pan over medium-high heat until golden/slightly charred on both sides. serve with some red pepper relish and a side salad or in a burger bun with the lot!

Makes 11 medium burgers

FROZEN TOFU - CHAPTER 2

wow! so excited... i am going to use some of the tofu that i froze last week (check it out at 'freezin' ma tofu') before i can add my flash fried tofu to a fab vegan dish i need to do a tiny bit of prep!

how?

to thaw out the tofu i cheated a little and used the microwave... but if you'd prefer you can be more organised that i am and take it out of the freezer the night before and leave it in the fridge to defrost.

i popped 1 portion (1/3 of a block of tofu) into a microwave safe bowl and whacked it on for 5 minutes on defrost/low... this wasn't quite long enough (it all depends on your mircowave's wattage - so adjust accordingly) i zapped mine for a further 5 minutes and it was perfectly defrosted and ready to drain.

i then placed the defrosted block between some paper towel and gave it a good squeeze into the sink. once it was nice and 'dry' i sliced it up and gave it a quick fry-off in a hot pan with a tiny little bit of vegetable oil.

done! and ready to enjoy... (p.s. it tastes so good right out of the pan that you will need to exercise some will power not to eat it all if you are using it in another recipe!)

i added these fried tofu pieces to a wikid vegan vegetable pilaf, but it would also be great in a vegan vegetable curry, stirfry, eaten as a snack (yum!) or crumbled over a saucy vegan pasta dish!

QUICK FRIED RICE

a quick fried rice is the obvious choice when you have some left over cooked rice on hand... just throw in some fresh and/or frozen veg and you have an instant and (so long as you add plenty of the good stuff) healthy meal in minutes!

how?

1 cup of cooked white or brown rice

2 cups vegetables (some of my favs include diced tomato, frozen peas or sugar snap peas, button mushrooms, diced carrot, diced capsicum, bok choy, vegan bacon... and the list goes on)

heat a wok or large saute pan, add a little sesame or vegetable oil. add the vegetables and stirfry. add the rice and stirfry (getting a few brown bits will add some flavour!) add some soy sauce according to preference and you're done.

serves 1-2 

PICNIC BY LAC LÉMAN

despite the wind, i managed to find a sheltered spot to enjoy a picnic by the lac. the olive ciabatta with some fresh and peppery salad greens and a smear of hummus with chili oil was just perfect; followed by some sweet and plump strawberries and blueberries - yum! 

and all that with the amazing backdrop of geneva's old town and the swiss alps - amaze! 

EXTRAS

pumpkin seeds and muscatel raisin

i really like to add a few extras to jazz up a salad - and these two are a couple of my favorites! a few pumpkin seeds, nuts, or even chopped up dried fruits can make a big difference to that plain old salad mix. they do of course add extra kilojoules/calories too so don't get carried away... which i know is hard!!

think:
- dried apricots
- walnuts
- hazelnuts

OH! ANOTHER SALAD?

that's right! i love eating raw - so salads tend to be a staple for me... as well as being a good way of getting your essential vitamins and minerals, it is also a very low energy density meal that can be very satiating (filling!) which is excellent if you are (like me) looking for a way to lose the winter weight!

for a bit more fill-factor i have added some cous cous (need i say... remember to check the brand you buy doesn't contain any egg!) to this mix of finely shredded red cabbage, diced tomatoes, rocket, shaved carrot and raisins - yum!

(this was a bit of a rushed job for tomorrow's lunch using what i had on hand in the fridge. as i am off to switzerland for the weekend i haven't done a proper produce shop. when i get back i'm plan to go a bit crazy at frutalia in order to restock the fridge!)

BACK-TO-WORK LUNCHBOX

brussels, broad beans, baby peas and red fruit tea