Vegan - Yum Yum!!

I had a bunch of mushrooms left over, and some curried vege sausages... Throw it together with some lentils and a few interesting flavours and you get this delicious, easy vegan meal.


Brown Lentil and Mushroom Curry

1.5 cups dried brown lentils - soak for a few hours.
about 7 large cup mushrooms, thickly chopped
1 medium sweet potato, diced
5 curried vege sausages - cut into 1.5cm lengths
1 large onion, finely diced
5 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tbs korma paste
1/2 tbs biryani paste
1 tbs apple and date chutney
1/2 tbs garam masala
salt and pepper to taste

Over medium heat:
Saute the onions and garlic till clear, put in the mushrooms and cook with a little water until wilted.
Add the sweet potato and about 2 cups water. Stir in condiments and garam masala.
cook about 5 minutes. Add the lentils and enough water to cover. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes until sweet potato is cooked.
Add the vege sausages. cook a further 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Makes aboout 8 serves.

Super Breaky #1

Its sunday morning, Ive just gone for a jog, done a set of 10 descending burpees, all sorts of crunches, dips, squats and about 50 push ups. Ive got a huge day of washing and gardening planned, complete with weed pulling down at the creek and i'll be taking the dogs down to the dog park at 5pm.

Before I get started on the rest of the day, I think its time for breakfast!!

Super Breaky #1

2 slices of Sourdough rye bread, toasted.
1/2 Avocado
1/2 tin baked beans (tomato sauce flavoured)
a good shake of tabasco
a few baby spinach leaves
2 large organic free range eggs, pan fried with yolks still runny
salt and pepper

Spread toast with avocado. add salt and pepper to taste
You can either put baked beans on top of the avocado with a shake of tabasco, or have it on the side. I'll be having mine on the side.
Put your baby spinach leaves on the avocado.
Top with 1 fried egg and salt/pepper/tabasco to taste.

Serves 1 very hungry person!!

Mixed vegetable risotto with baked pumpkin and leek

I really do have a thing about risotto, and I *really* do have a thing about leeks.

Once again, this combined my love for both and gives a good meal for watching a movie on Saturday night!!

Mixed Vegetable Risotto with baked Pumpkin and Leek

1.5 cups rice
1lt vegetable stock
1lt water
3 cloves garlic - chopped finely
1 onion - chopped finely
2tbs butter
(peas, corn kernels, chopped carrot, chopped celery, sliced green beans, chopped garlic shoots - as much as you would like. 1/2 cup pureed tomatoes) This was basically what I could fathom the $5 risotto sauce I accidentally bought {thinking it was a risotto} was made from...
juice of 1/2 lemon
about 1/2 cup shredded parmesan
Parsley, salt, pepper.

For the baked Pumpkin and Leek:
1/3 Large Jap Pumpkin, sliced into wedges about 1.5cm thick
1/2 large leek, sliced lengthways, then sliced lengthways again, then into thirds.
extra virgin olive oil
powdered vegetable stock (I use Massell - {Vegeta - the more common one, is 1)imported and 2)contains MSG (621) eeew!})
pepper

Start with the leeks and pumpkins, as the risotto only takes about 15 minutes to cook.



Oil a large pizza pan, arrange the pumpkin around the inside. Drizzle with a good amount of olive oil, then sprinkle with powdered stock and pepper. Put your sliced leek into a foil 'bag' and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap the open end of the foil bag with another piece of foil and place onto the pizza pan in the middle of the pumpkin. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 190 degrees.

While they are baking, its risotto time!

Saute garlic and onion in saucepan until clear. Add rice and mix well till all grains are coated. Add your vegetables and tomato puree. Stir in 1/2 litre of stock over a medium-high heat. Allow to boil then turn down heat to medium. Stir until liquid almost dissolved and then add another cup. Continue to add and stir until stock is finished, and then continue with boiling water - adding water a cup at a time until the rice is cooked. Make sure that the risotto is quite saucy and not at all dry - If so, add more boiling water and stir through.
At the end of cooking, stir in the lemon juice.
Add your salt, pepper, parsley and parmesan. Stir through well.

Pumpkin should be well cooked and starting to brown on the edges. Leeks should be soft yet not too mushy.

Serve risotto with pumkin slices and leek. Add cracked pepper and parmesan on top if you like.
Serves 4 (or 3 really hungry people!)

Pumpkin, Leek and Fetta Risotto

I found some leeks on sale at the local grocer - they are almost out of season so i'll be getting as much leek time in as possible... what better way to use my 2 fave vegetables than in my favourite dish!

Pumpkin, Leek and Fetta Risotto

1 1/2 tbs butter or dairy blend
3 cloves of garlic
2 leeks, washed and sliced (not too thick, but not too fine!!)
about 200gms pumpkin, diced (again not too thick but not too small!)
1 cube frozen spinach (about 50gms) - optional.
1 litre of strong vege stock - I use this in place of salt.
1 glass of sparkling wine (i like the local cleanskin NV pinot chardonnay... nice drop too!)
1 1/2 cups of white calrose rice
Pepper to taste
Low fat fetta to crumble as garnish

Saute leeks and garlic in butter until soft. Add the rice and mix thoroughly over medium heat till the rice is coated with the butter and starting to get warm.
Add about 1 cup of stock and stir slowly until the liquid has all but disappeared. Add stock in 1/2 - 1 cup amounts until you get halfway through.
Add 1/2 cup of sparkling wine, stir till absorbed. Add the other half. Stir till absorbed.
Add your pumpkin now, and half of your remaining stock. Stir and let sit for about 5 minutes on a low simmer. Stir occasionally to ensure the rice doesnt stick on the bottom of the pot.
When the liquid is absorbed, add the remaining stock and pepper to taste. Stir occasionally till liquid is absorbed.

You need to have the rice "al dente" so add HOT water in small increments if the stock wasnt enough to cook the rice and pumpkin. The pumpkin should be just cooked, and the risotto should be saucy - not dry.

Dish out into bowls, crumble fetta on top with a generous cracking of black pepper.