Wednesday, 29 January 2025

Thai Corn Fritters (Vegan)

Ingredients 

1 tbsp chia seeds

3 cups of corn kernels (fresh or from a can)

1 heaped tbsp vegan Thai red curry paste

1 tsp baking powder

¾ cup rice flour (115 g)

½ tsp sea salt

¼ tsp white pepper

2 freshKaffir lime leaves, shredded finely

vegetable oil, for frying

Thai sweet chilli sauce, for serving


Instructions 

Mix the ground up chia seeds with 3 tbsp of water in a small bowl

Leave until thickened, about 15- 20 minutes.

Cut the kernels off the cobs or drain them well if using tinned corn.

Put half of the corn in a food processor together with the chia seeds, curry paste, baking powder, flour, salt and pepper.

Mix until you get a smooth batter.

Add the other half of the corn kernels and finely shredded kaffir lime leaves.

Mix well.

Refrigerate for 30-60 minutes. If the mixture runs off the spoon after chilling, stir in another tbsp of flour to thicken.

Heat up the oil in a small pan and fry for 2 minutes until golden.

Place on paper towel to remove grease.

Serve warm with a side of Thai sweet chilli sauce.

Tuesday, 28 January 2025

One Pan Vegan Tuscan Pasta

Taken from Ticktoc 


Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

6 cloves minced garlic

3/4 cup full fat unsweetened coconut milk or coconut cream

1/4 cup nutritional yeast (noosh)

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp salt

250g small short pasta, like pasta spirals or penne

1.5 cups chopped broccoli

1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

1 cup sliced baby Bella mushrooms

2 cups chopped spinach

4 cups water

Instructions 

Put the olive oil in a baking dish. Add garlic, coconut milk, noosh, and herbs, then whisk together.

Add the pasta, broccoli, sundried tomatoes mushroom, spinach and water, then mix together.

Bake covered for 40 minutes at 200 Degrees Celsius, uncovering it for the last 20 minutes.

Optional add protein when its done like sautéed tofu! Top with plant based cheese of choice.

Sunday, 19 January 2025

Tapenade

1/2 jar of pitted Kalamata olives

1 tbsp of capers (substitute for green olives, or pickles)

1/4 cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves 

1 tbsp lemon juice 

Herbs (parsley or thyme)


Add to food processor and blitz. Serve with crackers or on a snack platter with other snacky foods.


Saturday, 4 January 2025

Tofu Cooking Methods

1) Cook it from the packet.

Why? 

Because we're too lazy to do anything else.

Method:

Remove from packet, drain the liquid, and cook it.


2) Press it

Why?

Pressing it removes liquid so the marinade absorbs better.

Method:

Remove tofu from packet and drain water. Wrap the tofu in a clean tea towel or paper towels. Place it under a heavy cast iron pan or a plate with several cans on top. Leave it for 10 - 30 minutes.

Save time by slicing the tofu int slabs before pressing it.


3) Freeze it

Why?

Freezing it changes the texture, creating air pockets. It's the best method for marinated tofu. The frozen block can also be grated to make textured protein.

Method:

Remove tofu from packet and drain water. Put it in a ziplock bag and freeze overnight.

To defrost:

- Remove tofu and leave it in the fridge for 1-2 days; or

- Leave it at room temperature for 2 hrs, then return it to fridge; or

- Remove from ziplock bag and microwave it 1 minute at a time for 8 minutes.


4) Boil it in salt water

Why?

Salt removes water and seasons the tofu. This method is best for crispy fried tofu.

Method:

Boil 1 block of tofu in salt water in 2 cups of water with 1/2 tablespoon of table salt.


Cooking the tofu

Once tofu has been prepared, it can be marinated and fried or baked. Alternatively, you can coat tofu in salt, pepper and cornflour then fry or bake it.


Inspired by RainbowPlantLife