Vegan MoFo 2016

Hi guys, for anyone reading I am taking part in MoFo this year again, but I've moved over to Instagram this time. If anyone is interested, I am @Rosamiex

Happy MoFo!

Vegan MoFo day day 30 - Fusion challenge

The last day of MoFo! Well, technically that was yesterday but I'm a day late posting as I've been feeling unwell.....hasn't it gone quickly? I've been so busy this year but managed to post every day, albeit a bit half-arsed on some posts (Ok, most posts). The prompts were fun, and it was interesting seeing different bloggers interpretations of the daily challenges.

Today's fusion challenge I'll admit had me a little worried. I know people are going to be posting sophisticated dishes for this but I thought I'd keep it real and make a pasty. Yes, a traditional British pasty. But where's the fusion, you ask? I filled them with Chana masala. British plus Indian equals FUSION, boom! Ok, maybe more confusion than fusion but they tasted amaze balls so I'll be over in the corner stuffing my face with pasties if you need me.

'Til next year. Bye MoFoers x

They look more like turnovers but I hate too much pastry so there you go

Vegan MoFo day 29 - What would you bring on a vegan road trip?

Well, assuming I'd be the one driving (I hate being a passenger in other people's cars) I'd need something I could eat whilst driving.
Something I often buy after a food shop to mom on the way home is Vbites sage and onion slices. Word of advice, if you're driving, make sure you open the packet with your car keys BEFORE you set off, as you just won't get to open them otherwise.

I've also included a pasty (easy to eat one-handed), a bag of seaweed peanuts to snack on and a bottle of water. I'm not sweet-toothed so I think this is ideal road trip munch.....although I'd probably throw in a bag of crisps or pretzels if it was a particularly long trip.

Oh, and on my little trip today I stopped for drive through coffee! Some new fancy pants blend they had made into a soy cappuccino. Coffee is essential for road trips.

Vegan MoFo day 28 - Tacos VS Burritos. Where do you stand on this important issue?

This is indeed an important issue. As far as I'm aware, we don't have any decent Mexican restaurants where I live and as such when I eat Mexican I have to rely on the Santa Maria ready-made corn tortillas etc. They're not bad but I have a feeling those of you in America probably know your shiz way better than me when it comes to Mexican munch.

That said, for today's challenge I decided to make both burritos and tacos, in the name of science! It wouldn't be a fair test if I didn't explore both options thoroughly. And by thoroughly I mean stuffing my face with a couple of each.

I made chilli, spicy Mexican beans, guacamole, limey salsa and buttery spiced corn on the cob, and served with corn tortillas, cos lettuce  and taco shells to stuff. I contemplated making queso and sour cream but I don't really go for sour cream and I think queso would have been too much with the guac (I know, I know, I'm doing it WRONG).

I do love a taco. But these taco shells were shit. Far too small and ever so slightly stale which kind of ruined the taco experience. The corn tortillas were pretty good and held more filling than the tacos.
So I'm going to go with burritos for now, but I may just have to run a few more of these experiments, you know, for science.

Vegan MoFo day 27 - favourite herb or spice.

Tricky. I'm not sure I have one favourite but the fresh herbs I use most are probably chives and basil (dried is mixed Italian herbs). My most used spice is probably turmeric, I get through quite a bit of that stuff. I use loads of chillies and garlic but they don't count as herbs (I think!) so I'm going with turmeric and chives.

For today's challenge I made a breakfast of tofu scramble using mashed tofu, turmeric, paprika, salt & pepper, ginger, garam masala, almond milk, coconut oil and chives. I served this with fried garlicky potatoes with chives and salted grilled tomatoes. Damn I love Sundays. 

Vegan MoFo day 26 - It’s cold and rainy and there’s a snow drift outside your door! What are you going to make using the ingredients you have?

Well funny you should say that as it's the end of the week and I have literally no fresh produce, all cupboard ingredients, so today's challenge is ideal!
What to make with just dried ingredients? Dahl of course! I've been told that dahl is a dish traditionally eaten by poorer folk in India as it's made from cheap ingredients that tend to be bought in bulk and easy to store. It's a Western thing to pimp it up with lots of vegetables etc so I made mine using red lentils, split yellow peas, water, cumin seeds, turmeric, garam masala, coconut oil, sliced garlic and salt. I served it with short grain brown rice and it was pretty filling and very tasty!
Not the prettiest or most interesting plate of food to look at but it does the job.

I'm sorry it's not very exciting. Here's a picture of a cute little peeg instead.

Vegan MoFo Day 25 - Share your favourite cuisine.

Shit, that's hard! How can you choose just one cuisine, that's almost like choosing a favourite child. Maybe. My favourite kind of foods are Indian, Italian, Japanese, Lebanese, Thai, Mexican....I won't bore you with the rest. I decided to make something kinda Italian as that's probably the stuff I make most frequently; I always have fresh basil, oregano, garlic and olive oil in my kitchen so it's easy to knock something up fairly quickly.

For today's prompt I decided to make a raw spinach and basil pesto (spinach, basil, pine nuts, extra virgin olive oil, a clove of garlic and lemon juice mixed in a blender) with high protein pasta and more spinach. It's so simple and quick to make but bursting with flavour and really filling. Pesto rules.

I tried making it look fancy by topping it with more basil and pine nuts....heh.

Vegan MoFo day 24 - What Adore Delano would eat if she were vegan

Ok, I don't know if Adore counts as a well-known celebrity but I don't care. I'm pretty much in love with her and have dreams about her which is weird since I've never met her IRL. Anyway, I basically want millions of her babies.

Oh, what would would Adore eat if she were vegan? Fuckin' pizza cus she's a fuckin' mermaid! Pizza is my favourite food too, so we're essentially a match made in heaven.

Here's a picture of some fuckin' pizza I had last night at Pizza express. Party.

It's their pianta which is spicy sauce on a thin base with mushrooms, artichoke, spinach, rocket, olive oil and pine nuts. Except they left my fuckin' pine nuts off so when I pointed that out I got a whole bowl of fuckin' pine nuts for my fuckin' pizza! Party!

I'm not sure if Adore would want that much rocket on her fuckin' pizza so I'd probably make her one with lots of vegusto and faux peperoni. Party.

Vegan MoFo day 23 - Autumn equinox eats

I love Autumn, because that's when we get Hallowe'en and cold mornings and PUMPKINS!
I was going to make pumpkin pie because I have a tin of American puréed pumpkin that I paid about £4 for but I'm kind of saving that for Hallowe'en so.....here's an Autumn favourite of mine; roasted butternut squash mac and cheeze. Every vegan loves this, right?

I roasted some peeled, chopped butternut squash and whole garlic cloves (with skin on) in the oven in plenty of oil and some salt.....added that to a pan (squeezed the garlic out of the skin) with some almond milk, paprika, mustard, vegan margarine, pepper and butt-loads of nooch, whizzed it all up then added the pasta.
I then put a portion in a bowl once the pasta was almost done and covered with polenta and paprika, and baked in the oven for 10 minutes or so. I like a crispy topping on mac and cheeze.

Excuse the awful photos again! I really need to wear my glasses when I take food photos.

Whoops, technically not mac but fusilli. Still delish.

Vegan MoFo day 22 - Make a dish using all seasonal produce

I was lucky enough to find a British grown aubergine in M&S over the weekend (I've only ever seen imported ones sold here) so I had to save it for today's challenge and make some moussaka! I haven't made it in forever, so this was exciting for me. I don't use bechamel sauce in mine as a friend with a wheat intolerance showed me how to make it, so mine is gluten-free. Still delicious though!

Here's the seasonal produce I used....

I sliced the aubergine into 1cm thick discs then halved them, and fried them in oil and salt on both sides until they were lightly browned.
The cooked aubergine then goes in to a baking dish, and is then topped with a mix of lightly fried onions, chopped fresh tomatoes, a few cloves of sliced garlic, paprika, cinnamon, cooked spinach (about half that bag) plus seasoning.
I then topped this with a layer of chopped fresh parsley and a little more paprika (this rises to the yogurt topping) then topped with soy yogurt with a good squeeze of lemon juice.
Baked in the oven for about 45 minutes then nommed.

I may be a filthy looking casserole dish but I've made many lovely things in my time!

 Sorry again about the awful pictures, it was about 9pm when it was finished. Normally I'd add lentils or something like tvp to the tomato mixture but I ate a lot of bread yesterday so I wanted something a little less carby for dinner.