Turkish Delight Cupcakes... Vegan Mofo Day 28...

Vegan Mofo is almost over! How sad.
I made these cupcakes last night and took them to the Cranker for Annie's Birthday. Might I just say they are entirely delicious and quite a success. Beware of the monster sugar rush.


Makes: 12
Time: Forty Minutes. 


Ingredients:

• 2 Cups of flour.
• Three quarters of a cup of raw sugar.
• 3 teaspoons of baking soda.
• One third of a cup of apple sauce.
• Half a cup of veggie milk (I used rice milk).
• One third of a cup of light oil (I used canola).
• Half a teaspoon of vanilla essence.
• Half a cup of cocoa.
• 2 Tablespoons of rose water.

Method:

Mix all of the ingredients is a bowl, preferably with a hand blender so that it's all lovely with no lumps. 

Pour into a greased muffin container or 12 patty pans.

Bake in an oven at 180C or 375F for about 20 minutes or until the cakes are springy to touch and you can poke a skewer in them and they will come out clean.

Place on a cake rack to cool completely before topping with icing.

The Most Important Part: Icing.

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups of icing sugar.
• 2 Tablespoons of rose water.
• 1 Tablespoon of veggie butter, such as nuttelex.

Method: 

Mix in a bowl with a fork until the ingredients have come together and are stiff.

Place about a tablespoon full onto each cake and top with something pretty. 

Vegan Smoked 'Bacon' Style Tofu Bits. Vegan Mofo Day 26... xx

I wouldn't serve these to an omnivore. I did and he said 'That tofu tastes... Chewy.' I, on the other hand, really enjoyed this little number. I had it for breakfast alongside some homemade baked beans and then I had it in a salad and then I had it in a wrap... Well, you get the drift.

Time: 10 minutes.
Makes: As many as you like.


Ingredients:
• Super Firm Tofu cut into thin strips- as many as you need.
• 2 Tablespoons Smoked Paprika.
• A few shakes of Pepper.
• A few drops of Liquid Smoke if you can get it (very optional- doesn't really change the taste that much and is hard to come by in Australia. I found it in the Asian grocers on Gouger St next to the Lions at the China Town entrance in Adelaide.)
• About a tablespoon of oil for frying. You really don't want too much. This is more of a 'dry fry' kinda thing.

Method:
Cut the tofu into thin strips- about half a cm thick- I think that is quarter of an inch?
Place them in a bowl and rub with the paprika and pepper.
Add the oil to a fry pan over medium to high heat.
Add the strips and on each one place a drop of liquid smoke if you have it.
Fry each side until it starts to look as if it's bubbling a blackening just slightly.
Serve as you like. Xx

Ridiculously Moist Vegan Carrot Cupcakes... Vegan MoFo day 24 xx

We had the first meet of the Adelaide chapter of the Cake Liberation Front yesterday in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. Who knew that there were so many rotundas in that beautiful space?
We eventually all found each other and the food on offer was divine: peanut butter cookies, chocolate stuffed dates and I made Carrot Cupcakes. Yes. I took the advice of many of the lovely people who 'like' the Vegan Kitten Facebook page. It seems carrot cake is always the winner, hands down.

How fitting that the first meet was during the Vegan Month of Food (Vegan MoFo). I can't believe it's almost over.

I was so glad to see that there were both vegans and non vegans at the meet as I'm a firm believer that the best way to make new friends is to offer them cake. Hell, the way to my heart is through my stomach. 

I must admit, as someone that doesn't eat much sugar, I ended up on a massive sugar high, which could be the reason as to why I am writing this at 3:35 am. All good though. Back to night shift tomorrow night.

If you're living in little old Adelaide, come to the next one. You can join the Facebook group here.

This recipe is the first one that I have made using apple sauce. To be honest, I was kinda not sure if the cupcakes would work because I was making the recipe up as I went along but trust me, they're perfect. Apple sauce is a winner.

Time: 10 Minutes Prep, 35 Minutes or so to Cook.
Makes: 18 (Yeah!) You can freeze any excesses without the topping and they should keep for a fair while.


Ingredients:

• 1 Cup of Raw Sugar. 
• 1 Cup of a light oil, such as canola or sunflower.
• 1/3 of a cup of apple sauce. Surprisingly they sell this at my local IGA. (That's Independent Grocers Association for those of you that aren't in the know- Shop Local!) I assume that they sell this at other supermarkets or you could of course, make your own. Just simmer some pealed apple chunks with a little water until its all smooshy.
• 1 Tablespoon of baking soda.
• One teaspoon of nutmeg.
• 2 Cups of plain flour.
• Half a cup of walnuts.
• 2 cups of shredded/ grated carrot (about 2 large carrots.)

Method:

Add the sugar, oil and apple sauce to a large bowl and blend really well. Preferably use a hand blender to make it all thick. You'll see what I mean.

Add the baking soda and nutmeg and blend a little more. Stir in the flour, walnuts and carrot.  The mixture will get really thick. 

Grease a muffin tray or use cupcake pans.

Spoon the mixture into the tray or pans so that it fills about half of the tray/ pan. 

Add to a preheated oven at 180C or 360F for about 35 minutes.

Keep an eye on them though, as all ovens are different. You want them to be lightly browned, springy when you touch them and when you insert a skewer into one, you want it to come out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack.

Top with lemon flavoured butter icing and half a walnut.

Lemon Butter Icing

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of organic icing sugar (Non-organic types may have been filtered with bone char. Check before you buy.)
• One Tablespoon of veggie margarine, such as Nuttelex.
• One Tablespoon of lemon juice.

Method:

Put the icing sugar in a bowl with the butter and mix. Add the lemon juice a little at a time until it is all mixed in and the icing is stiff. You may need more or less lemon juice. 

Icing is one of those funny things where if you add too much liquid, you have to start again. 

Top the cupcakes with the icing. Lush.

Here are some photos from the meet: 

Tomato and Avocado Bruschetta Of Champions. Vegan MoFo... xx

What could be better than the taste of bruschetta? Ha! See what I did there? If you have not had bruschetta before it is something you should really put on your to-do list. Its simple, easy and most of all freaking delicious. Having this for breakfast makes me feel quite indulgent, when really, it's actually quite healthy.

Time: 5 minutes.
Serves 2.


Ingredients:

• 2 Large Tomatoes, diced.
• 1 Avocado, diced.
• A small handful of basil leaves, chopped, sliced and diced.
• 4 Pieces of Sexy Bread (preferably continental as seen in the picture, but you can use any).
• One clove of garlic, cut in half.
• Olive oil, to drizzle.
• A few shakes of salt and pepper, to taste.

Method:

Get your grill cranking. Rub the clove of garlic all over that there bread and pop the bread under the grill. 

Keep an eye on it so you know when it is ready to turn. You want it slightly brown- not burned. 

Whilst this is happening, put your tomato, avocado, basil, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix.

Take the toast and place two slices on one plate and two slices on another plate.

Top with the avocado and tomato mixture. 

Drizzle a small amount of olive oil onto each slice. 

Eat and enjoy. 

Marinated Eggplant (Aubergine)... Vegan MoFo Day 16.

Is Australia the only place in the world that calls an eggplant an eggplant? It's a pretty funny name. I suppose it is an egg shaped fruit on that plant. Aubergine just sounds so much more... sexy.
Let me know.


Makes one small jar.
Time: Ten minutes prep, thirty minutes cooking time.


Ingredients:

• Two eggplants, sliced into strips about 2 cm wide (a bit smaller than an inch) but keep the length as long as you can.
• Enough olive oil to cover the eggplant when in the jar. Maybe half a cup.
• Salt and pepper.
• 2 Fresh garlic cloves.

Method:

Add the strips of eggplant to an oven tray and drizzle a small amount of olive oil over it. By a small amount, I mean about a tablespoon. Use your hands to get the oil to cover the eggplant. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Pop in an oven at 180C or 340F for about half an hour or until slightly browned.

Take the eggplant strips and garlic cloves and put them in a clean, sterilised jar. To sterilise a jar, pop it in a saucepan of boiling water for a few minutes and then drain. Be careful not to get any of the boiling water on you.

Cover the eggplant in the oil right to the top and seal the jar. Let sit for a minimum of a week to marinate. The longer you can leave it, the better.

Serve with crackers, in a salad or pasta. Delicious! And yeah, let me know what you call an eggplant. :) xx

Baked Cashew Cheese- Vegan MoFo.

Now, I was wanting something fetta like. I think I got it. It's really tangy. Think goats cheese maybe, if you can remember what that tastes like. This cashew cheese has a strong flavour that lends well to the sweet Onion and Tarragon Chutney I just made. This cheese would be real good as a ravioli filling, now that I think about it. I kinda want it in a salad though. I'm thinking this and beetroot would be magical.

Time: 5 minutes prep, twenty minutes cooking and soaking the cashews overnight. 
Makes: One cup.


Ingredients:

• One cup of raw cashews that have been soaked overnight in water and drained. 
• One teaspoon of garlic.
• Two teaspoons of white miso.
• Juice of half a lemon.
• Quarter of a cup of water.
• A few shakes of pepper.
• A quarter of a teaspoon of veggie butter.

Method:

Add all of the ingredients except the butter into a blender. Blend until it's as smooth as you can get it. Put the mixture into a small oven safe bowl and place the small knob of butter on top. Bake in the oven at 180 C or 340 F for twenty minutes or until browned on top.

Enjoy! 

Onion and Tarragon Jam/Chutney- Vegan MoFo Day 15.

This is spectacular. It's sweet and goes really well with the Baked Cashew Cheese I have just made. You can call it jam. You can call it chutney. Hell, you can call it Martin. Just don't call it bland because It's anything but.

This recipe also sees the last of my giant $3 onion bag. There are a few onions that started to grow stalks. I think I may pop them in the garden and see what happens. Oh. Yeah.


Time: 5 Minutes Prep, 30 Minutes to cook, 5 Minutes to bottle.
Makes: 2 Medium size jars.


Ingredients:

• Four cups of onions, sliced very thin.
• Two tablespoons of olive oil.
• One star anise.
• Half a teaspoon of powdered mustard.
• One teaspoon of tarragon.
• Two bay leaves.
• Half a cup of sugar.
• Half a cup of brown vinegar.
• Three quarters of a cup of water.
• One teaspoon of soy sauce or tamari. 

Method:

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the star anise, powdered mustard, tarragon, bay leaves  and the onions. Saute for about a minute and place the lid securely on the saucepan. Reduce the heat to low and leave to cook for twenty minutes, stirring only once. You shouldn't need to stir it that much.

Add the sugar, the vinegar, the water and the soy sauce/ tamari. Bring to the boil and let simmer for 10 minutes. It's now ready to bottle. Spoon the mixture into sterilised jars. To sterilise the jars, put them in boiling water for a few minutes. Be careful. It's hot.

Serve on crackers or on burgers or in a salad. Actually, serve it however you want it. xx

Ohh... I just love awards time... To read this post, you may have to click on it. Technical difficulties... Gah!

Val over at A Cowhuggers Life and Cheryl at A Midlife Vegan have given me an award. I feel very blessed. I love making friends through this here little blog and knowing that there are some people out there who like my style. Time to repay the favours. I have only just met Val and have been a fan of Cheryl's for a while now. I highly recommend both these blogs. I love reading about their adventures in the Northern Hemisphere and actually Cheryl, I'm going to grow up and be you- especially if there are snow angels involved! I'm still yet to touch snow...

"Liebster" is a sexy German word meaning "beloved". Who doesn't want a little more love in their life??

The idea behind this award is to bring attention to blogs with fewer than 200 followers and show some support. Unfortunately, you're going to have to rip the cute image from one of the above sites, as it seems to have set the gremlins off on my blogger. 

The rules of winning this award are as follows:

1. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.

2. Reveal 5 of your top picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

3. Post the award on your blog.

4. Enjoy the love and support of some wonderful people on the www!

And now on with the show!

The first award goes to (drum roll...)

Tea and Sympatico! I love hearing Caroline's stories about the UK and seeing the amazing food she makes. She is incredibly proactive in the vegan scene and doesn't mind making a sexy cocktail every now and again. Caroline is also really creative and has a Folksy shop where she sells pirate tea cosies. She also got me onto the Cake Liberation Front which I am incredibly grateful for. 

Tegan at Smart Arts and Crafty Cold Cuts is a dear friend of mine from art school. She has the most positive outlook on life and her blog is full of all things creative. She's one of the most talented artists I know. You should go visit her. 

Beautiful Vegan is an amazing site. It's colourful and well... beautiful. It's full of hints and tips and the photos are just stunning. Not sure how many followers they have but, hey. This blog is too cool for school.

Amber combines a love of cats and vegan food over at Zombie Cats Eating Plants. Need I say more? That's a winning combination right there. I've only just discovered this blog but it is super cute. Love it.

and finally, Erin. Erin is a doll. Her blog She Cooks, She Gardens talks candidly about life, food and gardening here in Adelaide. Her recipes are mainly whole foods, healthy and comforting. Many of them she makes vegan friendly. Inspiring.

Once again, many thanks to Cheryl and Val for your love and hope you both are having a wonderful day. xx

PS. If you have any advice on why blogger hates me and is not showing the main body of this post, please enlighten me. It's working on my phone but not my brand new lappy. Gah! 

How to work it at work. Vegan Mofo Day 12.

Being a shift worker can make your butt huge. I'm not lying. There comes a point where you crave food and there is often a lot of crap food around that you wouldn't normally eat- especially when it comes to night shift.
The best way to get around this is to have tasty food on hand that you get excited about. Desks jobs are a similar situation. I put on 20 kilograms at my last desk job. I swore I would never work a desk job again.

First thing is first. Your lunch box.
Make sure you own the coolest lunchbox to your liking. May it be vintage tupperware, some space age fandangle thing or the latest in Japanese bento boxes. Make sure it's something you enjoy looking at.
Also, you want compartments. I have a stainless steel tiffin which has three compartments and will last forever. I found it at an op shop in Semaphore.

Secondly, what to put in it.
I have three containers in my tiffin. I also had three sections of my vintage Tupperware container I used to use. I highly recommend compartments or three separate containers. In one, I put fruits, nuts and raw (don't be afraid of that word!) bliss balls and truffles. In another I put a sexy salad, with delicious ingredients that I buy specifically for my working days. I also carry in my bag wraps just in case I am extra hungry and feel like turning my salad into a super comforting and filling wrap.
In the final one, I add either a desirable soup or a main of sorts, like a pasta or rice dish.

Where do I find the food to fill my lunchbox?
I love food shopping. I shop at the local markets, asian stores and fresh produce stores and rarely ever venture into a big supermarket chain. By "rarely", I mean maybe once every year or two. I love the vibrancy of markets and how cheap (yes! Cheap!) everything is.  My lover and I often have dinner dates on Fridays at the Central Markets and wander around tasting glorious foods. We always find interesting foods that create the most intense mouth-gasms that have ever existed. So, in order to have something to cook in the first place, I recommend supporting local farmers and grocers and having a fun time doing it.

Time poor? Let's talk about that.
I spend maybe two hours a week cooking food that goes in the fridge and freezer and lasts the whole week. I make a soup or a risotto or a lasagna or sushi or cold rolls or a burger patty or whatever I want the main to be and then divide it up into batches.
Then I make a batch of bliss balls or truffles or muesli bars or whatever I want my sweet treat to be. Whilst waiting for these things to cook, you can cut up veggies for your salad and pop them in containers in your fridge. Too easy.
Honestly, it really only takes ten minutes to cook a good meal. It's not like you have to watch it cook whilst it's in the oven. Find something else to do (like that pesky washing) and smell the goodness wafting from the oven whilst you're at it. Then, you'll have everything ready to grab for each day.

Allow yourself ten minutes a day to get your lunchbox ready. That's all the time you need. Think of it as a little "you" time. This seems like a lot of food and it is but it's also low calorie eating, packed full of nutrients and vitamins to keep you fit, happy and healthy. I lost 15 of those original kilos simply by packing my lunch and eating more.

These tips should see you through being a healthy, happy little work bunny and keep you away from the darkside. My lunchbox is the envy of my work colleges. Let yours be, too.

Need any more advice? Just ask... xx

Sliced Pickled Onions- Vegan MoFo Day 11.

 

It's day 11 of the Vegan Month Of FOod (Vegan MoFo). Are you just loving it? I took some of my chocolate truffles to work last night and my fellow workers loved them. They couldn't believe that not only were they vegan but they were also healthy! Delicious. The recipe is here, however instead of dates, coconut and agave, I used currants and apricots. So good.

I bought a huge bag of onions from the Torrens Island Markets a few Sundays ago for the grand old price of $3. Bargain.
So what to do with that many onions?
Make Sliced Pickled Onions, of course!

Time: Twenty minutes prep time, three days soaking and then three weeks marinating time.
Makes: 4 cups of onions. (I tripled this recipe and so made masses of jars).

Ingredients:

• Four cups of onions, sliced.
• One cup of salt.
• Four cups of water.

Put these ingredients into a large sealed container for three days. After the three days take the onions out of the brine and give them a good wash.

For the vinegar:

• Four cups of brown vinegar.
• One cinnamon stick.
• One tablespoon of fennel seeds.
• One tablespoon of mustard seeds. 
• One tablespoon of minced garlic.
• Two bay leaves. 
• One teaspoon of chilli flakes (optional).

In a saucepan, add all of these ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for an hour.
You could use a slow cooker for this. Add all the ingredients and cook on low overnight.

Once you have gathered all of the ingredients, pack sterilised jars with the onions and vinegar. To sterilise your jars, boil them in water for a few minutes to kill any nasties. Take out of the water and fill with the mix immediately. Pop the lid on.

Leave the onions to sit for three weeks to marinate and then add to sandwiches, wraps, salads or crackers with some hommous or almond ricotta. Delicious! xx

Vegan Risotto- things you can do with a rice cooker. Vegan MoFo Day 10

Hello darling people,

I am super strapped for time this week as I am doing yet another block of four ten hour night shifts at work.

I did, however, have enough time to add some arborio rice, vegetables and stock to the rice cooker and let it simmer away until it came up with this lush and nutritious meal. You could, of course, make this meal on the stove in a saucepan. It's much of a muchness. The stove method takes a while longer though.

Time: Five minutes prep time and forty minutes to cook, or until your rice cooker says so.
Serves: 4-6.

Ingredients:• Two cups of arborio rice.

• Three cups of prepared vegetables. I used mushrooms, sliced leek, half a capsicum, sliced and a few florets of broccoli.

• One preserved lemon, chopped.

• One tablespoon of minced garlic.

• Four cups of stock.

• Juice from one lemon.

• A tablespoon of capers.

• Parsley, for garnish.

Method: If using a rice cooker, add the rice, veggies, preserved lemon, garlic and stock. Put the lid on and hit the cook button. Wait until the stock has absorbed and mix in the lemon juice and capers. Add pepper to taste. Top with parsley and serve.
If using a saucepan, add the veggies, preserved lemon and garlic over medium heat with a little oil. Stir for three minutes. Add the rice and stir for about three minutes. Add the stock a cup at a time, waiting for the liquid to be absorbed before adding the next cup. This should take some time. You may need more or less stock depending on how fast your rice is cooking. Once all the stock is absorbed, remove from heat and add the lemon juice and capers.
Serve topped with parsley and mix through pepper to taste.

Weekend weddings... Vegan MoFo

Sincere apologies for not posting the last few days. I have been semi camping in McLaren Vale, one of worlds premier wine regions.
There were a few weddings on in McLaren Vale this weekend and so accommodation was scarce. We pitched a tent in the caravan park and trundled off to one of the funniest and most beautiful weddings I have ever been to. Congratulations, Mr and Mrs Harding. May your life be something of wonder and joy. Xx
The wedding was held at Red Poles Restaurant, Gallery and B&B. It's such a beautiful place. The catering made me a vegan sweet potato red curry which was delightful. We also found a shop called The Olive Shop that sold only- have a guess? Olives. I bought massive green olives stuffed with almonds. Amazing!

When we woke up today we went for a drive to the Adelaide Showground Farmers Market. I bought some pumpkin, broccolini, sage to plant and micro basil to plant. Very excited. The farmers market is excellent for buying all kinds of produce. They have small businesses that sell their products too. A few things are vegan/ macrobiotic and the range of seasonal veggies is fab.
I'm thinking Sunday roast veggies is in order. Or maybe a roasted pumpkin stuffed with risotto? Mmmm.... Risotto.
Hope all you vegan mofo'ers are having a excellent day! Xx

Vegan French Onion Soup- The smell alone is sexu-wah-wah. Vegan Mofo! xx

I stood over this pot for literally an hour and a half just smelling how good it was. It's divinity in a bowl. The ingredients are simple but it does take a bit of time to all come together. Having said that, you still don't really need to do much. It's just so freaking simple that I can't believe I haven't made this before. You know that amazing smell when you saute the onions and garlic at the beginning of a recipe? Well, this recipe is that. Concentrated and in soup form.

Time: An hour and a half.
Serves: 4.

Ingredients:

• Quarter of a cup of veggie butter or olive oil.
• Four cups of sliced onions.
• One tablespoon of minced garlic.
• Six cups of good veggie stock.
• Two bay leaves.
• Two sprigs of parsley.
• A teaspoon of dried tarragon.

Method:

Add the oil or butter to a saucepan over medium heat and melt. Add the garlic and the onions and mix them so they are covered in the butter/ oil. Pop the lid of the saucepan on so that no air can escape and leave it to simmer in it's own juices for about 20 minutes. Lift the lid to stir once or twice during that 20 minutes.

Take the lid off and one cup of stock. Leave it to simmer until the stock has almost evaporated. Add another cup and do the same.

Add the remaining four cups of stock and the herbs and bring to the boil. Leave to simmer for about twenty minutes and then take the herbs out.

Serve with fresh crusty bread.

xx

Illuminate me. Skin scrub for those night dwellers and stress bunnies. Vegan MoFo xx

I work permanent nights at the moment. Many of my fellow staff and friends think I'm a nutter for doing this but it lends more stability to my life than shift work.

Us nurses have three types of shifts: earlies (7am- 3:30pm), lates (1pm- 9:30pm) and nights (9pm- 7:30am). Nights are longer hours and a little more cashola, which means I get more days off and can do evening things every day like drum lessons and have dinner with my lovely friends.

Also, I have Thursday nights off so I can deejay at the Crown & Anchor. Life just works right now.
There is one thing though. My skin and hair get a little dull sometimes.

I usually allow myself a once a week pamper session which involves me feeling a little luxurious.
For this weeks session I have made a facial scrub which both exfoliates and moisturises. It's also ridiculously simple and I bet you have the ingredients in your kitchen cupboard.

Time: 2 minutes
Makes: Half a cup.
Ingredients:

• Half a cup of raw sugar.
• Three tablespoons of olive oil.
• A clean jar.

Method:

Take the clean jar and add the sugar. Mix in the oil.
When using, take about a teaspoon and rub it in circular motions over your face- your cheeks, nose, forehead and chin. You can even use it gently around the skin of your eyes. That is delicate skin there, so be careful.
Wash off with cold water.
Feel how lovely your skin feels and know that you are beautiful.
Xx

Veggie Patch! Vegan MoFo xx

This fine eve we spent time in the garden, sprucing up the veggie patch.
We planted eggplant, an olive tree, pumpkin and around the gate in the front yard, tomatoes. We're running out of places to put things.

We covered everything in pea straw and poured an organic fertiliser over it.

The bugs have been eating our broccoli. I understand why. I love broccoli too. I've sprayed them with various mixtures over the years to stop them and usually a mix of garlic and chilli works. I'm trying a coffee spray out this time. I've been told it works marvellously. Once again understandable. I don't like coffee either.

I pulled up some raddichio that's been growing for about a year and a half but has never actually sprouted those little red balls of leaves. I always feel a little bad pulling plants up. Poor little guys. This may be left as a remnant from my childhood where if I hit my head on a table and started crying, I'd be made to apologise to the table. Crazy family.
I think it's mainly because I spend so much time wondering at the marvels of nature I feel bad that it's by my hand that these beautiful things are destroyed.
Grow, little veggies. Xx

Green Chai Tea- for Vegan MoFo

How is your Vegan MoFo going? Mine is just swell, other than the fact that every computer I touch has a hissy fit and dies in my arms. If anyone has been wondering why i haven't made my youtube cooking show yet, this is why. Production of the cook book has also ceased. If anyone has a computer handy, head it on over to me! I'll be sending most of the posts this week from my lowly iPhone.
And unfortunately, I learned last week that the factory that makes iPhones in China is dealing with some pretty strong human rights issues.

Allegedly, the workers work incredibly long hours and they work on the same production line every day of their working lives. I dont know about you but that would lead my little mind out the window. They have allegedly had to put fencing around the roof to stop people committing suicide. You can read more about that here. If you're like me and you love your humans as much as your animals, maybe think twice before your next upgrade? I personally find this information disheartening because I love the mac brand and I have refused to own anything but since I bought my first mac nine years ago. I still have it. It's a G4.
But on with the tea!

I love tea so much but really have to stay away from the more caffeinated versions because it makes me really jittery. Even green tea causes my body to shake, rattle and roll without my permission. Green tea is however, full of antioxidants and it even burns about 25 calories per cup by increasing your metabolism. Add these other ingredients and you're onto a winner, baby.

Makes: 6 cups.
Time: 15 minutes.

Ingredients:
• 1 tablespoon of fennel seeds.
• 1 teaspoon cardamom pods.
• 1 teaspoon of cloves.
• 1 stick of cinnamon.
• 8 black pepper corns.
• 2 bay leaves.
• 1 knob of Ginger, about the size of your thumb.
• 2 bags of green tea, or 2 tablespoons of green leaf tea.
• 6 cups of water.

Method:
Add all the ingredients to a saucepan and let simmer for at least 10 minutes.
Obviously, the longer you simmer it for, the stronger it will taste.
If you don't use it all, just reheat it on the stove or in the microwave if you're so inclined.

This, by the way, is my 100th recipe post. I thought I would share my green chai with you because I drink it pretty much everyday. Big love. Xx

Zenhouse Vegetarian Yum Cha- Vegan MoFo

Zenhouse has fast become an Adelaide tradition within both the vegan community and non-vegans alike. The majority of their yum cha selection is vegan how ever some is vegetarian. The menu easily explains which are vegan, vegetarian and gluten free.

Zenhouse have a wide selection of teas- over 100. They also have a small selection of groceries and books which are fun to look at while you're waiting for your meal.

Gotta love Zenhouse!!
17 Bent St, Adelaide.

Vegan MoFo!

Yeah! So this is my first update for Vegan MoFo. Vegan Month of Food is made up of over 700 vegan food bloggers, blogging about everything vegan for the month of October.

Today I bought this super rad cook book called "Please don't feed the Bears!" This book if fabulous! It has recipes for all kinds of things including mars bars, absinthe, teeth whitener and a tattoo gun. No kidding. Insane.

Today I also jarred a mass of pickled onions. I'll have that post up sometime tomorrow.

Happy Vegan MoFo, Yo! Xx