Vegan Tofu Coconut Curry

A fast and easy vegan curry for a week night meal. I always start by toasting the chickpeas so they are a little crunchy but you don't have to. Infact, if you skip the roasting and add chickpeas straight from the can this recipe takes even less time.

Start by adding extra firm tofu, chickpeas and spices (curry powder, turmeric, garam masala, chili powder, chili flakes, s&p) to a large pan with some oil and cook for 5-7 minutes. I never measure my spices... I throw them in to taste but usually I am heaviest on turmeric as I like that metallic flavour it has. Weird, I know.

Then you add one can of shaken coconut milk and half a small can (like 2 tablespoons) of tomato paste. Let it simmer for a few minutes and the add chopped garlic. I used 3-5 large cloves but I'm pretty much made of garlic. The flavour cooks out a lot but it's still obviously garlicy so add whatever amount you would feel comfortable with.

I also roasted the cauliflower to give it a little extra flavour before I added it to the curry. About 10 minutes at 400C. You can skip this step to save time, as well, just by chopping the cauliflower florets pretty small and letting it simmer in the curry (lid on) for 10 or so minutes.

Serve with basmati rice or naan. It thickens up nicely and you can control how much sauce is left by cooking with the lid on or off.

I have't been much into meat lately...and by that I mean I have gone back to my glory days as a vegetarian. I was meatless for about 15 years before I got married. It has given me some motivation to find new and exciting meatless dishes. This one was a real winner. There was obviously no meat in it but the tofu soaks up so much curry flavour you can't really tell what is is :P 

And for $2.79 worth of tofu we had two dinner portions and 3 meals left over for lunches...can't beat the meatless savings.

Vegan Chocolate Cake (and less than vegan buttercream)

I'm not a vegan, nor do I play one on tv. I'm only trying this cake because you can make it all in the cake pan and it looks super easy. And I'm always up for trying new things.

I didn't end up making this in the cake pan, though. It was easier to mix in a big bowl and I don't mind doing one extra dish. If that is the cost of chocolate cake I am in!

So your supposed to mix all your dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt) in your pan or a bowl and then make three indents. Fill one with vanilla, one with oil and one with vinegar. Then you dump a cup of water over the top and mix until it's smooth.

Here it is before it goes into the oven.

And here it is after baking at 350 for 35 minutes. The house smells amazing! I made a coffee and cinnamon butter cream.....just to ensure this "vegan" cake wasn't so vegan anymore.

I think she liked it.

Vegan Cucumber Mint Smoothie

I seem to be on quite the kick these days of drinking and especially trying out new smoothies. I have one every single morning for breakfast. Daphne loves it and it's the only tried and true method I have found to get spinach inside her body.

One afternoon, after I put D down for a nap, I was snacking on some cucumber and cruising around the internet. I am obsessed with looking up the health benefits of foods, so of course I looked up cucumber. Not too much information I wasn't already aware of: lots of fiber, helps with inflammation etc...but that's how I stumbled across the idea to make a smoothie with cucumber in it. How could I have been so blind...so ignorant..so blissfully unaware!?

So for my first attempt I used: cucumber, mint, apple, spinach, honey, chia seeds, ice cubes and enough water to get it to a smoothie consistency. This time I tried it with all the skins on, they do hold a majority of the goodness of fruits/veggies, so although all the recipes I found online had the cucumber peeled I wanted to try it my way first.

And here is the result:

Really good. Daphne liked it. Needed more mint, though. I really like that there is a faint taste of cucumber throughout it. Very refreshing. Put some vodka in there and I'm ready for summer! It's definitely a hardier texture than a fruit smoothie but that's how you know it's good for you, right?

I will be making this again, for sure!

Slow Cooker Vegan Butternut Squash and Lentil Curry

Made a ridiculously easy butternut squash and lentil curry for dinner the other night.

Squash, lentils, carrot, garlic, ginger, onions, turmeric, curry powder, water and coconut milk. Throw that in a slow cooker and let it go for 8 hours on low. 

Looks like a soupy mess before its cooked but the lentils thicken it up A LOT and it becomes the perfect texture for eating with naan.

Not really that aesthetically pleasing but its really good and very easy.