Braised tofu stew with roast baby potatoes

I adapted this hearty stew myself using the best features of various stew recipes. For the potatoes I just roasted some baby potatoes, (with the not-so-baby ones chopped in half to make em smaller!), in a couple tablespoons of olive oil, a teaspoon of thyme, and some whole cloves of garlic at 220C for 45 minutes.

For the stew(serves 2-4, takes about 25 mins)...

1 tin braised tofu, drained and sliced into bite sized pieces
2 large onions, sliced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large leek, sliced
500g brussels sprouts OR a cup of peas-frozen are fine(optional)
about 8 sundried tomatoes chopped into bitesized pieces(usde kitchen scissors to do this- it's easier! :))
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp basil
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
a few pinces of sea salt
300ml vegetable stock

-saute onions, braised tofu and garlic in olive oil over high heat for 5-1o mins
-add leeks, brussels(if using) and saute for a few more minutes
-add salt, pepper, herbs and sundried tomatoes, then pour in stock and peas(if using)
-mix, and then, once it boils, reduce heat to lowest and simmer for 10 minutes, then serve

PB squares and homemade rolls!

These were made using this super-easy RecipeZaar recipe for PB squares. They're extremely sweet, but the peanut butter makes them tasty and more-ish. Lovely, but fattening, so I'd better not make these too often!
These are homemade "breakfast rolls" (although I'll be serving mine with lentil soup!) I adapted the recipe off the back of a packet of flour, so here it is...

450g wholemeal flour
225ml warm water
6g baking yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp agave nectar (or you could use 1/2 tsp sugar instead)
2 tbsp olive oil
100g sesame seeds

-dissolve yeast and agave nectar or sugar in warm water
-sieve flour and salt
-add flour, salt and oil to wet ingredients and mix into a dough
-knead dough for about 5-10 mins
-put dough in clean bowl, cover and leave for 30mins-1hour
-divide into 16 rolls, dampen tops of rolls slightly with a little water using your finger, then press into small bowl of sesame seeds
-leave rolls for another 30 mins
-bake at 230C for 15-20 mins, then serve!

Restaurant review- The 78, Glasgow

The 78 is a fairly new-ish, 100% vegan restaurant located at 14 Kelvinhaugh Street, Glasgow. It's under the same ownership as their King Street place, Mono, but has a different menu.

Not the easiest of places to find, Jay and I got slightly lost getting there! However, it was worth the walk! The restaurant itself is beautifully decorated in a retro style, and has a nice, relaxed feel to it.

We both had spring rolls for starters and an all-day breakfast for our main courses. The presentation of our food was beautifully done, with the chilli and soya dipping sauces, for example, made into an arty squiggle on my plate and a heart-shape on Jay's (which led to his being teased by me that either the waiter or chef fancied him! :D). I wished I'd brought my camera to take pictures!

Both courses were lovely, though I must admit that I prefer Mono's all-day breakfasts since the 78's lacked the tempeh rashers and potato scones! The herby sausages, beans, toast, tomatoes, asparagus and mushrooms it had were still very tasty however.

I had the chocolate torte, with mocha ice-cream and a cappuccino for dessert- it's gorgeously decadent! I felt so sorry for poor Jay being diabetic while eating this! :(

The staff gave good, friendly service, and eating here was a very pleasant experience indeed. I'll still eat in Mono more frequently, but that's simply because it's nearer and there's not that much of a difference between the two, although I'd most certainly go back to The 78 now and then for a change.

The 78 gets a thumbs up from me, so go check it out! :)

Potluck preview...

I'm bringing these here cookies to the Yahoo! Scottish Vegans' group potluck tomorrow which I've just finished baking, and, more importantly, taste-testing!

On the left are the more grown-up sparkled ginger cookies, from Vegan with a vengeance, and on the right, the kids can have first dibs on the strawberry jam thumbprint cookies, also a variation on a VWAV recipe.

When I was baking these I was a little concerned they were going to go disastrously wrong but, hurrah, they pass the taste test! The thumbprint cookies turned out just fine, however, they were sticking to the greaseproof paper sheet and I accidentally broke a few trying to remove them- I think I'll just grease a baking tray if I make these again! The ginger cookies did not crack on the top so quickly as usual, perhaps it was the hot weather, perhaps the fact I used a measuring cup instead of scales, I don't know, so I left them in the oven to bake a little longer than usual, and so they are quite hard rather than chewy, but they're just like ginger nut biscuits so it's all good! They'll be ideal for dunking in a cuppa! :o)

I've still not got any batteries for my camera(sorry guys!) and a food meme

I'm not gonna bother tagging because I'm lazy, so open invitation to do this on your own blog to all my readers :)

Your three favorite spices, oils, or food flavorings:
1) cinnamon
2) coriander
3) vanilla

Your three favorite dishes, baked goods, etc. that you make:
1)my tofu quiche
2)tofu ricotta and mushroom pizza
3) lasagne

Your three favorite foods you buy at the store: (as in, already made, not whole foods)
1) zest vegan pesto
2) redwoods' cheatin' rashers
3) nakd cocoa loco raw food bars

Your three favorite meals to order in a restaurant:
1) big mono burger
2) tofu "cheese"cake
3) vegan sushi

Your Three Favorite Vegetables:
1) broccoli
2) bell peppers
3) aubergine

Three Favorite Fruits
1) Apples
2) Pineapples
3) Grapes

Three Places You Most Often Buy Food:
1) Morrisons
2) Holland and Barret
3) Grassroots

Top Three Things You Consider When Buying Food: (I left this the same because I do the same)
1) is it vegan?
2) use by date
3) price

Three Things You'd Probably Want me to Make For Dinner, if you came to my house??
1) my lentil and tomato soup with garlic bread
2) my tofu quiche with sundried tomatoes mushrooms and broccoli, with a side of baby potato salad and leafy greens
3)vwav coconut heaven cupcakes with cherries on top

I need batteries for my camera, and when can you feel good about eating cupcakes??

Yep, sorry, no photos today till I get round to putting the new batteries in the camera.

Cupcakes may not be the healthiest things in the world with all that oil and sugar, but they're certainly one of the tastiest! I must be one of the few vegans who haven't bought the Vegan Cupakes take over the world book yet (FWIW- of the cupcakes I've featured on here, some are from Vegan with a vengeance, The Cake Scoffer booklet from Animal Aid, and my own adaptions of recipes, veganised!) but I still get through my fair share!

I tried out the recipe for chocolate cupcakes from How It all Vegan last week, and I love it! The recipe says it makes 6, but actually it makes a generous 12 with plenty batter to spare/lick out the bowl while you bake! I iced it with the maple butteresque icing(also from HIAV). Delicious!

So what's better about these than your average cupcake? Well, they have a cup of blackstrap molasses per batch, which is bursting with iron (a whopping 3.5mg per tbsp!), so you're not just eating empty calories- if you want a chocolate cupcake, these are one of the best options to go for since they contain some nutrition in there too! Ideal for that time of month when we have choccy cravings and need an iron boost, ladies ;) You could serve them with some fruit or fruit juice for vitamin C for maximising iron absorbtion too. But do of course eat sensible food too and not just cupcakes!

Food for the Scottish vegan freaks meetup tomorrow!

No, I didn't! I've kept them safe for you!
Anyone tempted to come at the last minute and get some of these? ;) Above, peanut butterless ginger sesame cookies from Veganomicon. One of the vff-ers has a peanut allergy so I replaced the peanut butter with tahini (disclaimer-now, he's fine with seeds but not all nut allergy sufferers are, so do check with people first if you're cooking for them the nature of their own allergy). Because the tahini is runnier than PB I used 1/4 cup more flour to balance it out.

I also had no vegetable shortening so I simply used Pure sunfloer margarine, and no brown rice syrup so I used agave nectar. But I taste tested one and it's absolutely fine like this. The rest have been safely hidden away in my tin so there are some left for everyone else so I'm not gonna be like the lol kitteh when I arrive on Saturday!

And here's some Thai Red Curry, same one as a few posts ago, all tupperwared up in the fridge and ready to go...