Vegan MoFo Day 19 - Tidy-up Thursdays - Mung beans for Hummus

In the past two weeks Tidy-up Thursdays has involved an obscure flour and some old tinned produce which had past it's prime. This week it was time to play with a legume so I selected the most neglected one in my pantry - mung beans. At the moment my pantry is home to 14 different varieties of dried lentils and beans - black beans, pinto beans, red kidney beans, brown lentils, black lentils (urad dal), yellow split peas, red lentils, chickpeas, puy lentils, cannellini beans, soy beans, black eyed beans, Egyptian broad beans and mung beans. That's a lot of legumes! Most of them are used fairly regularly but I haven't been game to use mung beans since my fellows took a dislike to everything I made with them.

To be fair I didn't experiment with them broadly enough and only tried them in a handful of Indian curries. Curries are generally hits rather than misses so it was a bit disheartening that I was the only person enjoying these cute little green legumes. The mung beans were relegated out of sight next to the black eyed beans which are my least favourite. A recipe for Mung bean hummus posted on 101 Cookbooks caught my eye a few months back - there are heaps of different hummus recipes around using so many types of legumes but this was the first one I had seen using mung beans.

Mung beans are a lot easier to prepare than chickpeas as they don't require to be pre-soaked and only take around 30 minutes of cooking to soften so this hummus was pretty easy to whip up from scratch. Heidi's version didn't include cumin but I added some to mine and only used around half the amount of tahini as I was almost out of it. I also made a slightly larger quantity as I had cooked up a very big batch of mung beans. 

   

My fellows were none the wiser when I presented them with this hummus. They could tell that it was different to my standard chickpea hummus yet they had no idea what the secret ingredient was. It did have a slightly earthy flavour although it didn't taste anything like the mung beans we had eaten in the past. The hummus was spread on homemade pita bread along with falafels from Oasis Bakery that had been sitting in the freezer for a while to make falafel wraps. The remainder of the hummus disappeared rapidly mopped up with more pita bread and some baby carrots that had been pulled up from the garden. As this was so successful and I still have lots of cooked mung beans in the fridge I'll be whipping up another batch in the next day or two. Veganosaurus wrote a helpful post about sprouting mung beans a couple of weeks ago which is something I would like to try in the future too.

Mung Bean Hummus (Adapted from 101 Cookbooks)

2 cups cooked mung beans
1/4 - 1/2 cup tahini
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 large garlic clove, roughly chopped
1/2 cup (or more) water
olive oil, sliced spring onions and smoked paprika, for garnish

Place the cooked mung beans in a food processor and process on high speed until the beans have broken down into a coarse mixture. Add the tahini, lemon juice, salt, cumin, garlic clove and 1/4 cup of water into the food processor bowl and continue processing. Add 1/4 cup of water (or more) slowly while the food processor is running until the hummus reaches the consistency you are happy with.

Spoon the mixture into a serving bowl and garnish with olive oil, spring onions and smoked paprika.

Vegan MoFo Day 2 - MoFo Mondays - Spicy Cajun Lentil Patties and Homemade Spicy Mustard

Welcome to MoFo Monday! Today I'm digging out a couple of bookmarked recipes from Vegan MoFo 2011 which was the first time I participated in this fun filled month of blogging. I limited myself to making two recipes due to time constraints and found it incredibly difficult to choose from the inspiring list of bookmarks I had gathered.

First up were Spicy Cajun Lentil Patties from Heathen Vegan. I don't have a regular veggie burger recipe that I rely on and enjoy trying out different concoctions from cookbooks, blogs and my head when the mood suits. Burgers aren't always served in buns at my abode either - I'm rather fond of a few protein packed patties alongside a plate of roasted vegetables in colder months. Jeni Treehugger's recipe appealed to me due to the inclusion of a Cajun spice mix as well as the combination of vegetables and other herbs and spices she had used. Her perfectly assembled patties also looked sensational.

Now, I'm going to be totally honest and let you know that I had two attempts with Jeni's recipe due to an ingredient mishap the first time around. The patties were supposed to be made with red lentils but I used brown lentils without thinking twice as they have been my default lentil recently. When the burgers didn't hold together cohesively and their appearance looked entirely different I read through the comments in the post and realised my mistake - oops. The patties tasted great so I had to give them another shot to do the recipe justice - and I'm glad that I did! Both times I doubled the quantity of Cajun spice to give them a little more kick and didn't regret this minor alteration. As I was already roasting vegetables in the oven, the burgers were whacked onto a separate tray and baked for 15 minutes on each side as I find this much easier than frying in batches on the stovetop.

Next cab off the rank was a Homemade Spicy Mustard from The Vegan Ronin. This really is a cinch to make - sterilise a jar, place mustard seeds, apple cider vinegar and water in the jar, shake it up and allow it to sit for a couple of days. After this time blend the mixture with a bit of sugar and turmeric and you're done! I only made half a batch as I didn't have enough mustard seeds for the full recipe but it was enough to fill a small jar. I kept the mustard on the chunkier side as I don't have a mini food processor and my full size blender doesn't do the best job with small quantities. The man is as a huge mustard fan and likened this to a hot English mustard in seeded form.

As it's so easy to make I'm sure I'll be making another batch when this jar runs out. I'm going to keep quiet about how we have enjoyed the mustard so far as it's going to feature in an upcoming MoFo post.

Around the world - Stopover 28 - Albania

Albania is a small country in Europe, sharing borders with Greece, Macedonia, Kosovo and Montenegro. It has a coastline on the Adriatic Sea with mountainous areas inland. Meat is used heavily in dishes throughout most of the country and seafood is commonly eaten in the coastal regions. Vegetables are also an important factor in Albanian meals which are usually purchased fresh from farmers markets on a daily basis.

Albania threw my around the world cooking into a bit of chaos. An Albanian white bean soup called Jani me Fasule, which was my original cooking attempt, didn't end up getting eaten as the soup it was intended to be. A hefty amount of ground cinnamon was mistakenly added to the soup rather than cayenne pepper which threw the flavours out of whack - I posted about how this blunder was resurrected into some decent tasting burgers recently. After this mishap, I wasn't keen to make the soup again and hunted around for more Albanian recipes.

It didn't take long to find another Albanian dish that sounded appealing yet it took over a month to get around to making it. An oven baked leek casserole called Tave me Presh sounded like a perfect mid-winter dish to veganise using French puy lentils and mushrooms in place of ground meat. The only uncertainty I had regarding the original ingredients was mild red pepper. I wasn't sure if this was intended to mean red capsicum/bell pepper or a sweet paprika and decided to use the latter.

This casserole has a fairly short ingredient list and didn't take long to construct. As I wasn't confident of winning the man and young man over with this dish, I served it with some of their favourite sides – roasted carrots, broccoli and garlic bread. They neither loved nor disliked the casserole, this was a win in my eyes. Apart from it being slightly underseasoned which was easily rectified at the dinner table, I really enjoyed the oniony flavours of the leeks paired with the earthy lentils and mushrooms. Perhaps it was fate the soup hadn't worked out after all as I certainly didn't regret making this hearty dish.


Tave me presh/Albanian leek casserole - (Adapted from this recipe page containing 20 Albanian recipes)

½ cup French puy or standard brown/green lentils (or use a 400g tin of drained and rinsed lentils)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large leeks, white and light green parts, sliced into 2cm rounds
1 onion, diced
150g mushrooms, diced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup vegan beef stock (or use vegetable stock)
1 teaspoon paprika
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 200C.

If using dry lentils, place them in a saucepan with 2 cups of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20-25 minutes until tender. Drain the lentils in a colander.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a deep sided frying pan and sauté the leeks over medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes until softened and beginning to colour. Transfer the leeks to a 20 x 20 cm casserole dish.

Heat the other tablespoon of olive oil in the pan and fry the onion for 2-3 minutes until softened then add the mushrooms and cook until they are soft and beginning to release juices. Add the beef stock, lentils, tomato paste, paprika, salt and pepper to taste and allow to simmer for a minute. Pour the mixture over the top of the leeks in the casserole dish.

Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes. Most of the juices will have evaporated after this time and the top will have browned slightly.

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Did you know?

The local name of Albania is called Shqiperia which can be translated to "Land of the Eagles" or "Children of the Eagles". The main emblem of the Albanian flag is a two headed eagle.

Roasted tomato and basil soup

My mother in law kindly shares home grown fruits and vegetables with me when she has a surplus. I treasure these gifts whenever they appear and try to utilise this special produce in a recipe I haven’t tried before. The couple of tomato plants I grew last summer had a very short season as they were pulled up before we went on holiday so I was delighted to receive an assortment of standard and heirloom tomatoes from her recently.

An idea sprang to mind straight away – roasted tomato soup. As soon as the weather begins to cool down I always crave warm bowls of soup and aim to have a batch on hand for the days when there are no leftovers for lunches. I’ve previously made very tasty roasted tomato pasta sauces with home grown tomatoes and have wanted to try roasted tomatoes in a soup ever since.

I don't feel the need to seek out a recipe if I have a firm idea in mind. In these instances I trust my instincts and tweak the ingredient amounts (when necessary) after taste testing throughout the cooking process. This soup was kept very simple as I wanted the flavour of the tomatoes to shine, lentils were added for some protein as well as thickening the soup. After indecision about which type of stock power to include, I forgot to use any and simply seasoned the soup with sea salt after blending it.

Tomato soups create a divide throughout our household, the man and I adore them and the young man doesn't like them much at all. I'm not sure if that's the reason I don't make them as often as I should or perhaps it's just never cold enough for soup when tomatoes are in the height of their season. This particular soup turned out to have a wonderful creamy texture courtesy of the red lentils and the flavour of the roasted tomatoes paired with basil was lovely. It was an uncomplicated bowl of soup I'm looking forward to making again next tomato season.


Roasted tomato and basil soup

Serves 4

1 kg tomatoes

3 – 4 tablespoons olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium carrot, diced

1/3 cup red lentils

3 cups water

1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste

30 basil leaves, chopped

Preheat oven to 220C. Cut tomatoes in half and place cut side up on a roasting tray. Drizzle with 2-3 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with a few pinches of salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the tomatoes are very soft and juicy.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a stockpot and sauté the onion, garlic and carrots over medium heat until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the lentils and water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

When the tomatoes have finished roasting, add them to the stockpot along with all of the juices from the roasting tray.

Puree the soup with an immersion blender or in batches using a blender. Return the blended soup to the pot, season with sea salt to taste and stir through most of the chopped basil leaves. Allow to reheat, then serve garnished with additional chopped basil and freshly cracked black pepper. 

Around the world - Stopover 22 - Singapore

The small island country of Singapore is located on the southern part of Malay peninsula, separated from Malaysia by a narrow strait of water. Malaysian food is commonly found in Singapore as well as Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, Middle Eastern and Western dishes. Noodle dishes are always popular at our house so I happily selected a few to make from an abundance of choices and due to my unsatisfactory attempt at making murtabak for Brunei I was also keen to give this another try.

This version of murtabak was adapted from a Singaporean recipe with a promising blend of spices (no cardamon overload in this version!) and I used lentils and mushrooms instead of tempeh this time. Murtabak usually has egg in the filling so I seasoned some crumbled tofu with kala namak (black salt) prior to mixing it with the rest of the filling ingredients.

I also wanted to try making the roti and watched a few videos on YouTube of murtabak being made in market places. It was a bit daunting to see them being prepared with such ease as I knew it wouldn't be the case for a novice yet it also provided me with a few tips and the inspiration I needed. After making the dough, it was rested for an hour in a bowl coated with oil. The oil made the dough very supple and created an elastic texture that is required for it to be stretched out to a paper thin consistency. My technique was fairly rudimentary after the dough was initially flattened between my palms. I placed the dough on the bench holding one side down and slowly stretched the other side in a flapping motion, if that makes sense! The edges didn't turn out as thin as the centre so I pinched them with my fingertips and stretched them out last as best I could. Perhaps a rolling pin could have been better for this task!

The initial concerns I had about the thin dough not holding the filling went away after the first murtbak was successfully assembled and I gathered some momentum for the remaining ones. We loved the curry dipping sauce last time I made murtabak so I made another one based on a recipe from Munting Kusina. Thai thin soy sauce was substituted for fish sauce and even though I used a hot curry powder it didn't turn out too spicy. This turned out to be one of the favourite meals I have cooked recently. The murtabaks paired with the dipping sauce were so delicious and everyone was disappointed that there weren't any leftovers.

Mee Goreng is one of the man's favourite noodle dishes, he frequently orders it from Chinese/Malaysian restaurants but I haven't been able to replicate it at home as well as I would like. This latest attempt was much closer to how we are used to it although I was a little heavy-handed with the chilli and it still needs a few minor tweaks to the ingredients in the sauce.

Singapore noodles have become rather popular at home since In the Mood for Noodles posted a fantastic recipe last year. This time I tried a recipe from World Vegan Feast by Bryanna Clark Grogan. I found it interesting that it used jalapeno chillies and smoked tofu as well as seitan or soy curls. I omitted the seitan/soy curls and bumped up the quantity of the smoked tofu instead. Bryanna's version was very tasty and quite spicy although the recipe from In the Mood for Noodles remains the household favourite as it's the most similar to Singapore noodles we have eaten locally.


Murtabak with lentil and mushroom filling (Adapted from MakanTime)
Makes 6

Roti dough

2 cups plain flour
½ heaped teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons dairy-free margarine
2/3 cup lukewarm water
2-3 tablespoons peanut oil

Combine the flour and salt together in a large bowl, then rub the margarine into the mixture with your fingers. Add the water and mix together . Knead the dough for 10 minutes, then divide it into 6 even pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of peanut oil in a large bowl, roll the dough balls in the oil to coat them, then allow them to rest, covered with a tea towel for an hour.

Filling

½ cup brown lentils
150g firm tofu, crumbled
¼ teaspoon kala namak (black salt)
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 small onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2cm piece ginger, minced
200g button mushrooms, diced
1 teaspoon garam masala
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup water

Place the lentils in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Drain in a colander.

Crumble the tofu into a small bowl. Add the black salt and stir well to combine.

Heat the peanut oil in a deep sided frying pan or large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and fry for 5 minutes or until soft. Stir through the garlic and ginger for a minute then add the mushrooms and allow them to cook until softened. Add the garam masala, cayenne pepper, turmeric and salt and stir for a minute. Stir through the cooked lentils and the water and allow to cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and mix the the tofu through. Allow the filling to cool down prior to assembling the murtabaks.

Assembly

Take a dough ball in your hands and flatten it between your palms. Place it on your bench and carefully stretch out the dough with your hands until it is a rectangular shape and your benchtop can be seen through the dough. Place 1/6 of the filling in the centre of the dough and smooth it into a small rectangle. Wrap the ends of the roti over the filling so it is enclosed like a parcel. Place the roti on a plate seam side down and repeat the steps five more times.

Pour a couple of tablespoons of peanut oil in a frying pan and place on medium-high heat. Fry the rotis in batches for a couple of minutes on each side or until browned. Top up with additional oil in between batches as necessary.

Serve with the following curry dipping sauce.

Curry dipping sauce (Adapted from Munting Kusina)

1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon hot madras curry powder
pinch cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 ½ tablespoons Thai thin soy sauce
165ml tin (2/3 cup) light coconut milk

Heat the peanut oil in a small saucepan over medium heat and fry the garlic for 30 seconds, or until softened but not browned. Add the curry powder, cayenne pepper and turmeric and stir for 30 seconds. Pour in the Thai thin soy sauce and coconut milk and bring to the boil then turn off the heat and allow to cool. Transfer to a bowl for dipping.

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Did you know?

Although Singapore is one of the smallest countries in the world, it's population density is the second highest.

Around the world - Stopover 21 - Myanmar (Burma)

Burmese cuisine draws it's influences from the neighbouring countries of India, China and Thailand. Burmese food is not entirely new to me as we used to eat at a Thai/Burmese restaurant years ago. Our favourite dishes were always Burmese curries (I posted a recipe for one earlier this year) which tastes like a combination of Thai and Indian food. Although Burmese curries are lovely, I wanted to try something different which wasn't difficult as I found plenty of dishes that sounded really good.

After I posted about making tofu a few weeks ago, Mandee commented that she wanted to try making chickpea tofu. Up until then I hadn't heard of chickpea tofu and discovered that it was a traditional Burmese recipe which originated from a fusion of Chinese styled tofu with Indian chickpea flour (besan). When Burma was drawn next I had to give it a try!

I looked up a few recipes, one of them seemed just as involved as the soy-based tofu making process and another on BestOodles sounded quick and easy so I referred to the latter. It was simply a matter of bringing water to the boil with some margarine and whisking through a slurry made with chickpea flour, water, turmeric, salt and sugar. About 5 minutes later, the mixture becomes incredibly thick and difficult to stir. After spooning it into a greased dish/tin the chickpea tofu is refrigerated for 4 hours, then it is ready to use.

BestOodles also listed a recipe for a Burmese tofu salad which contained a couple of fishy ingredients so I made a few changes to the dressing and the garnish. The recipe also included tamarind juice which sounded like a bit of a process to make from scratch so I subbed in tamarind puree in it's place. This was another simple dish which required a bit of chopping, mixing the dressing and putting it all together at the end. The dressing was very spicy although it really makes the dish and if you choose to serve it individually, you can go as crazy (or not) with the dressing as you like.

World Vegan Feast by Bryanna Clark Grogan contained one Burmese recipe which was a dal with roasted cauliflower. I adore dals especially when they have an added vegetable so I had to give it a go. This also came together pretty easily, while the lentils were simmering, the onion, garlic and spices were fried and the cauliflower was roasted in the oven. The dal was lovely, it contained a decent amount of spices and I enjoyed the addition of roasted cauliflower.

I'm not usually the biggest salad lover but the Burmese salad was the stand-out dish of the night. The texture of the chickpea tofu was fairly soft and probably fell somewhere in between silken and firm tofu. Chickpea tofu is also commonly fried so I'm planning to put this to the test with the remaining half of the batch.


Burmese tofu - Shan tohu (Adapted from BestOodles)

4 cups water, divided
1 tablespoon dairy free margarine
1 ½ cups chickpea flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon turmeric

Bring a pot containing 2 ½ cups of water and the margarine to the boil. Whisk together the chickpea flour, 1 ½ cups water, salt, sugar and turmeric in a bowl. Whisk the chickpea flour slurry through the boiling water, reduce the heat to low and continue to stir for about 5 minutes or until the mixture becomes very thick.

Pour the mixture into a 20 x 20cm greased glass dish or baking tray. Tap the dish on the surface of your bench to remove air bubbles and smooth out the top with a knife or the back of a spoon. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 4 hours. Use within one week of making.

Burmese salad - Tophu thohk (Adapted from BestOodles)

2 tablespoons chilli oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons Thai thin soy sauce
2 tablespoons tamarind puree
2 small cloves garlic, minced
½ small cabbage, finely shredded
4 spring onions, finely sliced
fresh coriander sprigs
½ quantity Burmese tofu, sliced
fried shallots, for garnish
shredded nori or dulse flakes, for garnish (optional)

Whisk together chilli oil, sesame oil, Thai thin soy sauce, tamarind puree and garlic in a small bowl. In a large bowl, combine the cabbage and spring onions together.

Arrange the cabbage and spring onions on serving plates followed by a couple of sprigs of coriander and some slices of Burmese tofu. Drizzle some of the chilli, sesame, soy sauce and tamarind dressing over the top. Garnish with fried shallots and nori or dulse flakes if desired.

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Did you know?

Burma is technologically behind the rest of the developed nations. Up until two months ago there were no ATMs, there is a limited mobile phone network, internet access is scarce, and people commonly use a horse and cart for transportation.

Vegan MoFo - Stopover 18 - Tajikstan

Tajik cuisine has similarities with Russian, Iranian, Afghan and Uzbek cuisines. Traditional Tajik meals begin with a spread of dried fruit, nuts, halva and other sweets before progressing to soup and the national dish of plov makes up the final dish. Plov is a festive rice dish similar to a pilaf which is traditionally made with meat.

It was an Uzbek plov recipe that caught my eye when I was searching as a commenter mentioned that the recipe was more similar to a Tajik style plov, so I adapted my vegan version from this using puy lentils and chickpeas as protein sources. The method of cooking plov is rather unique as the onions, garlic and vegetables are cooking in oil initially before being pushed to the outsides of the pot. Rice that has been soaked in salted water is placed in the centre of the pot, then it is covered and simmered for 30 minutes. Plov can also be cooked be cooked in a wok, as I don't have a lid for my wok I cooked this in a large deep sided pan.

I don't usually make rice laden dishes like this as my fellows aren't very enthused by them so I wasn't surprised that they didn't love it (they didn't hate it either, it was just alright). The abundance of onions was most definitely a highlight, the spices were quite mild yet they provided subtle flavours throughout. I couldn't resist adding some Sriracha chilli sauce to my lunch leftovers today, even though it's not traditional I enjoyed it more this way!  


Tajikstan plov (Adapted from food.com)

1 cup basmati rice
1/3 cup puy lentils
3 tablespoons peanut oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced into half moons
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large carrots, cut into matchsticks
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon chilli flakes
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 ¾ cups water
1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
fresh parsley, chopped for garnish

Wash the rice thoroughly then allow it to soak in salted water for 30 minutes. While the rice is soaking, simmer the lentils for 30 minutes and chop up the vegetables.

Heat the peanut oil in a deep sided frying pan or a wok (if you have one with a lid) over medium-high heat. Fry the onions until they are lightly browned, about 8 minutes then add the garlic and fry for another minute. Add the carrots, cumin, coriander, chilli flakes, salt, pepper and 1 cup of water, stir well then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes, the carrots should be slightly softened after this time.

Drain the cooked lentils in a colander and add them to the pan/wok along with the chickpeas and stir well. Push the vegetables to the outsides of the pan, leaving a hole in the centre. Drain the rice in a colander and add it to the centre of the pan (try not to mix it in with the vegetables), followed by ¾ cup of water. Cover and cook on low heat for 30 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed.

Stir everything together thoroughly and add additional salt and pepper if required. Serve garnished with fresh parsley.

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Did you know?

Despite being the poorest country in Central Asia and the former Soviet Union the literacy rate in Tajikstan is 99.5% as the former Soviet system of free education has still been maintained to this day.

Do you want to know where else I've been this month? Click here for the round up.

Vegan MoFo - Stopover 11 - Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan doesn't have a lot of vegetable based dishes to offer in their cuisine. Their people were mainly nomadic until around 100 years ago so meat was traditionally a large part of their diets and still remains this way today. A dish called oromo can be served with or without meat so I decided to give this one a try as it sounded like an interesting thing to make. I remembered to take a few photos along the way to talk you through the process of making oromo.  

Oromo is an unleavened dough that is stuffed, rolled into a coil and then steamed. The dough is mixed/lightly kneaded until it becomes smooth and then it is rested for 30 minutes. After the resting period, the dough is rolled into a rectangular shape with a thickness of 2-3mm.

After spreading the carrot, potato, lentil and onion mixture on the dough, the dough is rolled up tightly into a long log.

This log is curled it into a coil shape, which is steamed for 30 minutes. The oromo is cut into pieces and served with tomato puree with spices or yoghurt mixed with greens and spices.

The word around our table was that the meal was interesting and I did have to agree with that sentiment. It wasn't spectacular, nor was it completely boring or bland yet I can't say it's something I would be rushing back to make this way again. I really did enjoy preparing this meal as it was such a different cooking experience so I'm pleased to have stopped over in Kyrgyzstan!


Oromo (Adapted from National Cuisines of Kyrgyzstan)

Dough

250g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon Orgran egg replacer mixed with 1 tablespoon water
100ml warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt

Place the flour in a large bowl. Dissolve the salt into a jug with warm water. Pour the water and egg replacer into the flour and mix with your hands until it becomes a smooth dough. Use additional flour if the dough is too sticky. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Filling

1/3 cup puy lentils
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 small carrots (200g), peeled and grated
1 medium potato (200g), peeled and grated
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place the lentils in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Drain in a colander then place in a bowl with the onion, carrots, potato, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly.

Assembly

Roll the dough into a large rectangular shape to a thickness of about 2-3mm. Spread the filling on the dough leaving 1-2cm of the edges plain. Roll the dough into a long log with your hands. Take one end of the dough and curl it up into a coil.

Steam for 30 minutes.

Cut into serving size pieces and serve with spiced tomato sauce.

Spiced tomato sauce

400ml tomato passata (pureed tomatoes)
pinch cayenne pepper
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped

Place the tomato passata and cayenne pepper in a small saucepan and heat gently. Season with salt and pepper. Stir through parsley just before serving.

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Did you know?

Over 70% of Kyrgyzstan is made up of mountain terrain and there are a total of 88 mountain ranges in the country.

Do you want to know where else I've been this month? Click here for the round up.

Vegan MoFo - Stopover 8 - Lebanon

When the young man drew Lebanon out of the hat, he grinned and said to me, "I think you'll like this one". He was spot on, what's not to love about Lebanese food - falafels, hummus, baba ganoush, pita bread, tabbouleh, ful medames and mujaddara to name a few. The only problem with these foods is that I've made them all before so I searched further to find something new to try.

Kibbeh is a national Lebanese dish typically made of burghul, onions, ground meat and spices. It can be served in a number of ways, the most common form is stuffed and fried in the shape of mini footballs. I had more than enough fried foods last week so when I spotted a baked version in World Vegan Feast by Bryanna Clark Grogan I simply had to try it. Bryanna's version started with a layer of thinly sliced onions drizzled with olive oil which were covered with a bulgar and mashed potato mixture followed by a layer of lentils and topped off with the bulgar and mashed potato.

The most substantial change I made to the recipe was to use quinoa in place of bulgar as it's something I don't keep in the pantry. I loved that the recipe provided several options with regards to the fresh herbs that could be used and as I had mint and parsley on hand that's what I used. The spices in the dish were minuscule by my usual standards which made me wonder whether this meal was going to be flavoursome enough. I needn't have been worried as it turned out to be really lovely, the spices and mint were quite subtle although it was the onions throughout that really made the dish. Using quinoa may not have been the best substitute as the texture of the kibbeh turned out to be rather crumbly which made it impossible to cut squares neatly. I served the kibbeh with pita bread and leftover baked okra as it need to be used up.

During my research I came across a dip I hadn't heard of before called mutabbel before realising that it's a slightly spicier version of baba ganoush. Both of these eggplant dips are common to Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Kurdistan, Israel and Egypt even though their names and ingredients vary slightly between countries. I've made baba ganoush plenty of times before using different methods to cook the eggplant and this time I decided to initially blacken the eggplant over a gas flame, stuff it with garlic slivers and finish the cooking in the oven. I enjoy the smoky flavour that roasting eggplants over a flame brings although I find it time consuming and fiddly to completely cook the eggplant this way so I was much happier with the method I chose.

Mutabbel

1 large eggplant (about 750g)
3 cloves garlic, peeled and cut into thin strips
2 tablespoons tahini
¼ cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon smoked salt
olive oil, parsley and smoked paprika, for serving

Preheat oven to 200C.

Place the eggplant over a gas flame until the skin is mostly blackened (this step can be skipped if you like and the eggplant roasted a longer time. Make incisions in the flesh of the eggplant and insert slices of garlic in the cuts. Place the eggplant on a baking tray and cook in the oven for 30 minutes or until the eggplant is very tender and collapsing.

When the eggplant is cool enough to handle, peel off the skin and discard. Roughly chop the eggplant flesh and place into a food processor bowl with the tahini, lemon juice, cumin, cayenne pepper and smoked salt. Process until it has a smooth texture then transfer to a serving bowl. Make a moat in the middle and fill with olive oil. Garnish with chopped parsley and smoked paprika.

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Did you know?

Lebanon is a unique country in the Middle East as it's the only country that doesn't have a desert.

Do you want to know where else I've been this month? Click here for the round up.

Deconstructed shepherds pie

Deconstructed seems to be a buzz-word in the foodie arena these days. I'm not usually the type of person to keep up with the latest trendy terms yet it seemed to be the perfect description for a dinner we had recently. I had been hunting around for a recipe that used silverbeet (aka. swiss chard) and lentils and then threw in pie as an extra search term for good measure. A recipe for a lentil and swiss chard shepherds pie with onion gravy that Joanne from Eats Well With Others had posted sounded interesting although the recipe was calling out for me to deconstruct it.

Shepherds or cottage pies are very popular at home with everyone but me! I make them fairly regularly to please the boys even though they never really enthuse me. I don't mind these pies on the the night but there are always leftovers and the mashed potato topping tastes pretty awful when it's not freshly made in my opinion. When I discovered this recipe I thought to myself why bother going to the trouble of constructing and baking the pie when the individual components could just as easily be served on their own. The beauty of this idea was that I could make enough mashed potatoes to serve on the night without there being a need for any leftover spuds.

Joanne mentioned that the onion gravy was the highlight of the dish which had grabbed my attention. My gravy making endeavours often end up in the garbage and then the packet mix comes out to ease my frustration. Even though I subbed in dried thyme for fresh, I was very pleased that this turned out to be one of the nicest gravies I have made from scratch. This onion gravy is a recipe I will definitely come back to again and am looking forward to trying with fresh thyme!

Another minor change I made to the process was to utilise the stems of the silverbeet and cook them and the leaves in with the lentils rather than cooking the silverbeet leaves separately and dirtying another pan. The overall meal was hearty and satisfying and I was happy to have leftovers of the lentils and silverbeet and onion gravy and no mashed spuds for a change. Perhaps I won't bother with a fully baked shepherds/cottage pie in the future, deconstructed pies of this kind could be here to stay!


Deconstructed lentil and silverbeet shepherds pie with onion gravy
(Adapted from Eats Well With Others, originally from The Meatlover's Meatless Cookbook)

Wine braised lentils and silverbeet

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 French shallots, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium carrot, diced
½ teaspoon dried thyme (or use 1 spring of fresh thyme)
½ cup puy lentils (or use brown/green lentils)
2 tablespoons red wine
¾ - 1 cup water
½ teaspoon salt
400g silverbeet, stalks diced and leaves roughly chopped

Heat the olive oil in a deep sided frying pan on medium heat, add the shallots, garlic, carrot and thyme and fry for about 5 minutes or until slightly softened. Stir through the lentils followed by the red wine and increase the heat to cook off the wine. Pour in ¾ cup of water, bring to the boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 40 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Add more water if the lentils are drying out during this time. In the last 10 minutes of cooking, add the silverbeet stalks. When the lentils are tender, add the salt, stir through the silverbeet leaves and cook for a couple of minutes until just wilted.

Onion Gravy

3 tablespoons dairy-free margarine
2 large onions, sliced into thin half moons
1 teaspoon dried thyme (or use 2 sprigs of fresh thyme)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 cups water
1 tablespoon cornflour mixed with 1 tablespoon water
½ teaspoon salt
pinch of sugar
1 teaspoon soy sauce

Melt the dairy free margarine in a large frying pan over medium-low heat. Stir though the onions and thyme and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook for 5 minutes. Pour in the water and increase the heat to an active simmer. After the liquid has reduced by half, stir through the cornflour/water mixture and turn the heat to low. Cook for another 5 minutes then season with salt, sugar and soy sauce.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

700g potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
1 teaspoon salt
2 ½ cups water
1 tablespoon dairy-free margarine
couple of splashes of soy milk

Place the potatoes in a saucepan with the garlic, salt and water. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Drain the potatoes in a colander. If you have a potato ricer, press the potatoes and the garlic through a potato ricer into a large bowl. Stir through the dairy free margarine and a few splashes of soy milk. Alternatively use a potato masher to mash the potatoes, garlic, dairy free margarine and soy milk together.

Simple satisfying soup

There's nothing better than a bowl of soup to get you through a period of ill health. When the man came home from day surgery a couple of weeks ago I wanted to have a pot of soup ready for him as I had a feeling that his appetite would be diminished. I figured if there was a pot of soup around he may be persuaded to try some. I didn't have the time or inclination to look up recipes, instead I pulled vegetables out of the fridge and decided to make a simple soup based on broccoli as it's one of his favourite vegetables.

The soup turned out to be really lovely and the two of us polished it off in a couple of days. As I forgot to take a photo at the time, I had to make it again. It's a very simple recipe which takes about 10 minutes of preparation, 25 minutes of cooking and a few minutes at the end to blend it into a thick smooth delicious soup. Like most of my other blended soups, I included some red lentils for extra protein and to thicken it up.

I wasn't quite sure if the soup would be flavoursome enough initially and stirred some basil pesto into my bowl, honestly it tasted so much better without it. I love it with a shake or two of white pepper and think that's all it really needs. A mild tasting herb like parsley could also be a nice garnish.

Broccoli soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 small onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup red lentils
4 cups vegetable stock
2 medium (300g) potatoes, peeled and diced
2 heads (600g) broccoli, stalks and florets roughly chopped
salt and black or white pepper, to taste
fresh parsley chopped, for garnish (optional)

Heat the oil in a stockpot and fry the onions over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir through the garlic for a minute then add the lentils, stock, potatoes and broccoli. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered for 20 minutes.

Transfer the contents of the pot to a blender and process in batches until smooth. Pour back into the stockpot and reheat gently. Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Moussaka update

When I have time on my hands and I'm in the mood for eating it, I really do love making moussaka. It takes a while to put together the way that I am accustomed to making it, yet I don't want to change the process as I have found that shortcuts are detrimental to it's overall taste. Last year I posted my initial vegan moussaka recipe which I was quite happy with at the time. This recipe has now fallen into the category of a few other recipes of mine where it has evolved into something different so I figured it was time for an update.

The main differences between my latest version and the earlier recipe are the bechamel sauce and I usually don't bother with a feta cheese replacement crumbled into the layers as it is flavoursome enough without it. I made a batch of Johanna's baked almond feta last week so I did add this to one of the layers only because I had it on hand. Another area where I have always fluctuated in the making of this meal is the method of precooking the vegetables. It used to work best with a BBQ hot plate and grill but ours hasn't been in working order for years so I have found that the next best thing to use is the grill function in my oven (with a watchful eye). Precooking the vegetables is the most time consuming part of the moussaka preparation and I believe this is a crucial step as it allows the potatoes and zucchini to soak up the flavours of the sauce whilst baking and gives the eggplant a wonderful smoky flavour.

The bechamel replacement that has become my standard is adapted from the moussaka recipe in Veganomicon. I wasn't attracted to the entire moussaka recipe as it doesn't contain enough eggplant and there is too much potato for my liking although I was very interested in the pine nut crema that is used in the topping. The greatest part about this crema is all of the ingredients are whizzed up in a blender so there is no need to fuss over the stove worrying about getting lumps in your sauce. After I tried out the crema, I made some changes as the standard tub of silken tofu I buy is 300g and the recipe calls for 450g. Silken tofu is one of those things that can linger in my fridge if it's not used immediately so I made some changes to the recipe after I grew tired of wasting leftover tofu. I found that 300g of tofu with half a cup of soy milk and some extra cornflour does just as good a job.  

Another wonderful thing about moussaka is that it makes a large quantity and the leftovers taste fantastic. It's a fantastic dish to take along to gatherings as it can be baked ahead of time and reheated when required.

Moussaka with tomato lentil sauce and pine nut crema (Crema adapted from Veganomicon)

Olive oil spray
1kg eggplant, sliced into 1-2cm thick pieces
500g potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly
500g zucchini, sliced thinly
150g baked almond feta, crumbled (optional)

Tomato lentil sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chilli flakes (optional)
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 ½ cups cooked brown lentils or use a 400g tin, drained and rinsed
700ml jar tomato passata
½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
¼ cup water

Pine nut/cashew crema

½ cup pine nuts or raw unsalted cashews
300g silken tofu, drained
½ cup soy milk
1 clove garlic
2 teaspoons cornflour
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
pinch nutmeg

Sprinkle eggplant slices with salt and set aside for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, spray the potato and zucchini slices slightly with olive oil and cook under a griller until slightly browned on both sides. Alternatively, the slices can be fried them in a lightly oiled pan or baked in the oven on tray lined with baking paper until browned on both sides.

After the eggplant has rested for 30 minutes, place the slices in a colander and rinse well. Pat dry with a tea towel or paper towel and grill, fry or bake the eggplant slices until browned on both sides.

Heat the olive oil in a deep sided frying pan over medium heat and cook the onion until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir through the garlic for a minute then add the chilli flakes (if using), oregano, lentils, passata and salt. Rinse out the passata jar with the water and add this to the saucepan. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered for 10 minutes.

Place the pine nuts or cashews, tofu, soy milk, garlic, cornflour, lemon juice, salt and nutmeg in a blender or food processor and blend until it is completely smooth and no lumps remain.

Preheat the oven to 200C. In a 30cm x 20cm casserole dish, spread out about a quarter of the tomato lentil sauce. Place a third of the eggplant, zucchini and potato slices on top, followed by another quarter of the tomato lentil sauce. Crumble the baked almond feta on top, if using. Repeat the vegetable and sauce layering two more times, then pour the contents of the blender over the top as evenly as possible. Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes, the top should be firm and starting to brown.

Thai pumpkin and lentil soup

When it comes to pumpkin, the man and I are in total agreement. The only way we appreciate it is roasted or in a Thai flavoured pumpkin soup. There are so many recipes around for Thai pumpkin soup that are essentially a standard pumpkin soup with curry paste and coconut milk added. I've made soups like this before so I decided to create my own this time with additional ingredients to enhance the Thai flavours.

I had some Thai green chillies and lemongrass in the fridge that needed using up and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Red lentils have been finding their way into a lot of my blended soups recently as I love their thickening quality, the nutritional value is just an added bonus. Our little kaffir lime tree had a couple of leaves stripped off for this purpose and I chose to use some Thai thin soy sauce in place of vegetable stock. The Thai thin soy sauce isn't an essential ingredient, regular soy sauce or vegetable stock could be used in it's place which is how I have written the recipe.

It turned out to be fairly spicy which is exactly how I planned it. The amount of chillies could be reduced or omitted to suit personal tastes. I loved the slight undertone of the kaffir lime and lemongrass in this soup and enjoyed an extra squeeze of lime halfway through my bowl.

Thai pumpkin and lentil soup

1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Thai green chillies, sliced finely
3 tablespoon vegan red curry paste (Maesri brand)
1 cup red lentils
4 cups water (or use vegetable stock if not using soy sauce)
1 kg jap pumpkin, cut into chunks
4 kaffir lime leaves
1 stalk lemongrass
3 tablespoons Thai thin soy sauce (or regular soy sauce or omit and use vegetable stock)
165ml tin coconut milk
fresh coriander leaves, for garnish
lime wedges, for serving (optional)

Heat the oil in a stockpot and add the onions. Cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat until softened then stir through the garlic and chillies for a minute. Add the red curry paste, lentils, water (or stock), pumpkin, and kaffir lime leaves. Trim the end of the lemongrass and remove the outer layer, then pound the stalk gently using the back of a knife so that it releases more flavour into the soup. Add the lemongrass stalk to the pot, bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer, covered for 20 minutes.

Discard the lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves then transfer the contents of the pot to a blender and process in batches until smooth. Pour the soup back into the pot and place on low heat. Stir through the Thai thin soy sauce, coconut milk and lime juice. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with wedges of lime.

Smoky cauliflower and tofu bacon soup

The weather has been cold enough for weeks yet it's taken me this long to get back into the swing of making soup. There have been heaps of leftovers from dinners recently to satisfy our lunch requirements so there hasn't been any need to cook up a batch of soup, until now.

I had a head of cauliflower in the fridge and looked up a recipe I posted last year for a creamy cauliflower and tofu bacon soup which was delicious. After scanning the ingredient list I wanted to make a few changes so it ended up being a slightly different version. Last time I used some Tofutti better than cream cheese and in hindsight didn't think it was really necessary as blended cauliflower is very creamy on it's own. For this version, I ditched the Tofutti, increased the quantity of nutritional yeast flakes and added some red lentils and smoked paprika. Smoked paprika was something I mentioned in my previous post as being a potential addition so I took my own advice on board!

When I was seasoning the soup at the end, I remembered Johanna from Green Gourmet Giraffe had used leftover tofu bacon marinade in a pumpkin soup she had made. Unfortunately I recalled this after adding some salt and only used a little as a final touch. Never mind, the rest of that marinade went into some refried beans on another night which gave them a lovely flavour.

Which soup did we like the best? Well, it's difficult to say as this one is fresh in my mind and the others don't have the best memories when it comes to food. This soup seemed just as creamy and the smokiness from the paprika, marinade and tofu bacon melded together wonderfully. I prefer these ingredients over the previous version which means it's the winner for me.


Smoky cauliflower and tofu bacon soup (Adapted from my other recipe)

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 small onions, diced or 2 leeks, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup red lentils
5 cups vegetable stock
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon left-over tofu bacon marinade (optional, or bump up the quantity of smoked paprika)
8 slices precooked tofu bacon, chopped
fresh parsley, chopped roughly, for garnish

Heat olive oil in a large stockpot and saute the onions until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a minute then mix through the lentils. Pour in the vegetable stock and add the cauliflower florets. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer, covered for 20 minutes until the cauliflower florets and lentils are tender.

Transfer the contents of the pot to a blender and process in batches until very smooth, alternatively use a stick blender to process the soup in the pot. Return the blended soup to the cooking pot and stir in the nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, salt, marinade and 6 slices of chopped tofu bacon. Reheat on a low temperature and season with additional salt (if required) and freshly ground black pepper.

Heat the remaining 2 slices of chopped tofu bacon in the microwave for 30 seconds. Ladle the soup into serving bowls and garnish with tofu bacon, parsley and freshly ground black pepper.

Broccoli dal

This may not look like the most attractive meal in the world although it's delicious flavour has been enough to warrant this being repeated several times and that's saying a lot in this house! The concept of a creamy broccoli dal in Vegan Yum Yum interested me when I first purchased the book even though the amount of spices seemed lacking. I originally trialled the recipe with double the amount of spices which was nice yet I felt it could use some further improvement and began tinkering further.

During my second attempt, I discovered that my cumin seeds had run out. I used ground cumin instead and was on a kalonji/nigella seed craze at the time and added some as well. As you can see from the photo, I'm still hooked on these tasty seeds and also find them to be a tasty addition to saffron rice. I wasn't expecting the meal to be such a hit because a plate of dal doesn't usually excite the others as much as me. I didn't record quantities of ingredients used that time and it's been a challenge to win them over with this meal since.

It has taken a few attempts to rediscover the version that wowed my dal sceptics and I still received minor criticism this time that the broccoli to dal ratio was slightly low which was most likely due to using small heads of broccoli. My recommendation is to use medium or large sized heads of broccoli in order for the broccoli to work it's magic into this meal. Other notable tweaks I have made to the original recipe include the addition of some ground coriander and using blended cashews in place of soy milk to provide a thicker creamier texture. I also prefer to throw roughly chopped broccoli in the pot and blend the whole lot briefly at the end rather than finely chopping the broccoli at the start and serving the dal in a chunkier style.

The recipe below makes a decent sized pot of dal which would be enough to feed four without a side dish. I've been in the habit of making at least 2 curries when we have Indian food so there are always heaps of leftovers, as they reheat wonderfully and taste even better after the flavours have had a chance to meld further. We enjoyed broccoli dal on this occasion with spiced vegetable patties from Holy Cow and have previously loved it with "butter chicken" too.


Broccoli dal (Adapted from Vegan Yum Yum)

1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 1/2 teaspoon kalonji/nigella seeds
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon Indian chilli powder/cayenne pepper
1 cup red lentils
4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
2 medium-sized heads of broccoli
1/2 cup raw unsalted cashews, soaked for at least 4 hours
1/3 cup water
2 teaspoons garam masala
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Heat the peanut oil in a large saucepan and add the black mustard and kalonji seeds. When the seeds begin to sizzle, stir through the onion and cook over a medium heat for a few minutes until softened. Add the garlic and stir for a minute, then add the turmeric, coriander, cumin and cayenne pepper. After another minute, stir through the lentils then pour in the water. Add the salt and roughly chopped broccoli stalks and florets to the pot. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, until the lentils are soft, about 20-25 minutes.

Transfer the contents of the saucepan into a blender. Process the mixture and when the broccoli has broken down, pour everything back into the saucepan and return to low heat. Rinse out the blender and add the cashews with the water. Blend the cashews until they become smooth and creamy and pour this into the saucepan. Add the garam masala, lemon juice and additional seasoning, to taste.

Vegan MoFo - Q is for Quinoa Stew (and an award)

This quinoa, lentil and vegetable stew has to be my favourite recipe from the Fat Free Vegan blog as it's the one I have repeated the most. It's from Susan's "Ridiculously Easy" category as she used frozen vegies and tinned lentils for convenience. I have blogged my adaptation of this recipe before which uses fresh vegetables and larger quantities of quinoa and smoked paprika.

It's a great recipe which is simple to prepare and you can throw in whatever vegetables you have around. This time I used pumpkin, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and added spinach right at the end. The flavours improve over time as it tastes even better the next day. I have also mixed a bit of harissa into the leftovers before and made quinoa stuffed peppers which were fantastic!

Click here to see my A - Z of Vegan MoFo posts.

I was both thrilled and extremely honoured to receive the Liebster award (German for favourite, beloved or dearest) from Mandee at Cupcake Kitteh. Mandee's blog is full of beautiful photos of the many things she has made from Viva Vegan which is what initially attracted me. I also find it inspiring how she manages to cook such amazing food with ease that doesn't contain any soy or gluten. Head over and take a look if you haven't been there already!

My job now is to hand out the Liebster award to 5 bloggers that have less than 200 followers if this can be judged from the site. I decided to give the award to bloggers I have discovered throughout Vegan MoFo 2011 that haven't already received this award to the best of my knowledge.

The bloggers (listed in alphabetical order to keep in line with my MoFo theme) I am awarding are:

• Dawn from Veg-am
• erinwyso from Olives for Dinner
• Jes from Eating Appalachia
• Jes from Your Mom's a Vegan
• Rachel from I Eat Grains

The winners can pass the award on if they feel inclined to by:

• Showing your thanks by linking to the person that gave you the award
• Choosing 5 bloggers to give the award to and leaving a comment on their blog to let them know 
• Post the award on your blog 
• Enjoy spreading the love around

Vegan MoFo - E is for Ethiopian Soup

So I'm sharing another old recipe today which makes it 4 oldies in a row! If you are hanging out to see something new, bear with me as I promise there will be a brand new recipe tomorrow plus plenty more coming up over the next week.

Ethiopian food has been a passion of mine for several years. World Vegetarian Classics by Celia Brooks Brown was the first vegetarian cookbook given to me which contains an extensive section on Ethiopian cuisine. The moment I tried these recipes I fell in love with the unique flavours. For those who are unfamiliar with Ethiopian food, there are two crucial ingredients that are used in the wats (stews), a spiced clarified butter called niter kibbeh and a spice mix called berbere.

Soup is another love of mine. I'm not much of a cold weather person although one of the things I enjoy most about the cooler months is cooking up a batch (or two) of soup on a weekly basis. Over the last few months I have tried 19 new soup recipes, some of which were concoctions of my own. My Ethiopian soup is the recipe I am most proud of, because it started as an idea to use up the remaining vegetables in an almost bare fridge and resulted in the most delicious soup I have ever created.

After the success of my first batch, I have made this a couple of other times using niter kibbeh in place of the dairy-free margarine, cloves, cinnamon and cardamon which results in a superior overall taste. I usually serve it with pita bread as I have been making this a lot since finding a great recipe earlier this year. Injera would be a more appropriate accompaniment although it does takes longer to prepare than pita.

Click here to see my A - Z of Vegan MoFo posts.