Sausage gnocchi with warm spring greens & bean salad

June 3, 2013 / Frankie Mouche / 2 Comments

I started this on Facebook, but I wanted all you guys here to see it too.

I was off sick from work for a little while so I sat and watched Jamie’s 15 minute meals because his recipes are often easy to veganise. I then set myself a challenge to veganise every recipe in the book that goes along with the series and do it all in under 15 minutes.

This particular recipe was what I made the very first time that Mykey came over for dinner. I had to modify the recipe slightly because he is allergic to hazelnuts and soya yoghurt and I didn’t have any kale. It was also the first time he tried gnocchi so I took a bit of a risk and it went down an absolute treat. I’d even be tempted to say it was exquisitely delicious….. oh whoops! I just did! 🙂

Ingredients:

* 4 vegan sausages. (I used Fry’s because I think they are the best and hold their shape very well.)

* 2 teaspoons of fennel seeds.

* 2 teaspoons of dried rosemary.

* 125 ml of red wine (I used a merlot from Co-Op.)

* 200 g tenderstem broccoli

* 700 g passata

* 400 g gnocchi

* pack of vegan bacon. ( I used Redwoods.)

* olive oil

* 40 g walnuts

* 1 teaspoon of maple syrup

* 200 g fine green beans

* 300 g spring greens

* 1 1/2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar

Ingredients out • Kettle boiled • Large casserole pan, high heat • Small frying pan, high heat • Large lidded pan, high heat

START COOKING
Cut the sausage into chunks and place in the casserole pan with the fennel seeds and rosemary.

Finely slice the bacon, put into the small frying pan with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and the walnuts and cook until golden, then add the maple syrup and remove from the heat.

Line the beans up and cut off the stalks, then put them into the large pan, cover with boiling salted water and the lid.

Cook for 4 minutes, then add the greens, tearing up any larger leaves.

Pour the wine into the sausage pan and let it bubble away while you check on the beans and greens.

If done, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a colander to drain, leaving the pan of water on the heat.

Tear the broccoli tips into the sausage pan, then slice and add the stalks, along with the passata.

Add the gnocchi to the pan of water the greens were cooked in and pop the lid on.

Mix the olive oil, vinegar and a pinch of salt and pepper in a serving bowl, tip in the drained greens and toss to coat, then scatter over the crispy nuts and bacon.

When the gnocchi have been floating for a couple of minutes, drain them and toss with the sauce.

Season to taste and serve in the pan, or on a nice platter if you have such things. I had a plate. Haha!

…..and that was what won his heart. 😉

Raw Coconut & Date Cookies

May 29, 2013 / Frankie Mouche / Leave a comment

These cookies were a hit with everyone who ate them and we will definitely be making them again. They are stocked full of good carbs such as dates and bananas, so they are great to eat about an hour before exercise. They are also jam packed with protein from the flax and pumpkin seeds. Combine that with the good carbs and you also have a great post workout snack too, or you can just have them as a cheeky dessert.

We decided to make these cookies raw because we love raw food. It’s always so full of flavour and the health benefits are enormous. For example when you cook food, you denature (destroy) the enzymes contained within that food, some of which are very beneficial to your health. Also with green vegetables, the vitamins and minerals contained within them tend to be water soluble, so if you cook them in water you will lose a lot of nutrition. (Personally I prefer to roast, dehydrate or eat all of my veg raw.)

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas.

A large handful of pumpkin seeds, chopped coarsely.

200 grams of milled flax seed.

200 grams of shredded, unsweetened coconut.

8 dates, chopped and depitted. (We buy ours with the pits already removed.)

3/4 bottle of agave nectar

2 tsp. cinnamon

Method:

In a large bowl combine all the ingredients. We used a potato masher. Be patient with this because it can take a while to get to the right consistency. It was a workout making these cookies in the first place.

Make into cookie shapes and place on grease proof paper on a dehydrator tray. (If you don’t have a dehydrator you can now choose to bake for 15 minutes or you can eat them just as the dough.)

Dehydrate for approximately 15 hours if you want them to still be slightly soft and gooey inside.

Thai Green Curry

May 28, 2013May 29, 2013 / Frankie Mouche / Leave a comment

Thai green curry is a favourite in our household. It’s full of flavour, protein, greens and it can be served with rice or a salad depending on the time of day. (I try and get most of my carbohydrates in before lunch so I can burn them off at the gym in the evening.)

There are three elements to this dish. The curry itself, the sides and the paste. This recipe uses a paste which has been created from scratch. If you choose to buy a jar of ready-made green paste, be careful because some brands contain lots of extras like refined white sugar and even shellfish.

Paste Ingredients:

1 stalk lemongrass, thinly sliced, OR 3 Tbsp. frozen prepared lemongrass

1/4 can coconut milk

1-3 Thai green chilies OR jalapeno

1 large bunch chopped coriander leaves & stems

1 shallot, chopped

4-5 cloves garlic

1 thumb-size piece ginger, sliced

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. ground coriander

1/2 tsp. ground white pepper (available in most supermarket spice aisles)

1/2 tsp. sea salt

Side Ingredients:

A handful of alfalfa/radish sprouts

1 carrot

1 courgette

White rice

A sprinkle of fresh or dried coriander

Curry Ingredients:

1 + 1/2 cups medium-firm tofu, cubed, OR canned chickpeas (your choice)

1 green bell pepper, chopped into bite-size pieces

1 packet of chopped green beans

3/4 can coconut milk

250ml vegetable stock

A generous sprinkle of basil

Method:

1) Place all ‘paste’ ingredients in a food processor or blender and blitz to create a fragrant green curry paste.

2) Place a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 Tbsp. oil and swirl around, then add all the green curry paste you just made. Stir-fry 1 minute to release the fragrance.

3) Add the tofu or chickpeas. Stir-fry until well saturated with sauce.

4) Add the stock. Stir and reduce heat to medium-low. Gently simmer 5 minutes.

5) Add the coconut milk, plus vegetables and continue simmering 5-7 minutes, or until softened. Then turn the heat to the lowest setting and allow the flavours to infuse.

6) In the meantime, place your preferred amount of white rice into a pan of boiling water and follow the cooking instructions on the back of the pack. Drain and mix with some chopped coriander.

7) Place your sprouts on the plate.

8) Grate the carrot and courgette into strips. (I used the blender grater function for this to save time.)

9) To get them into nice balls, place them into a small bowl and place upside down on the plate. Remove and they will stay in place. The same applies to the rice if you wish.

10) Now it’s time to plate up the curry and enjoy!

Everyday Chickpea & Quinoa Salad

May 7, 2013May 7, 2013 / Frankie Mouche / Leave a comment

The British summer is finally upon us and what do you need on a hot summer’s lunchtime or evening? A light, refreshing but filling and healthy salad. I got this recipe from, “Appetite for Reduction.” It is written by the guys who wrote Veganomicon and all the recipes contain less than 450 calories each. So it’s a great book if you’re working on a calorie deficit which you should be if you’re trying to lose weight and body fat.

Ingredients: Salad

2 big handfuls of quinoa that you have already pre-cooked in boiling water for 20 minutes, drained and allowed to cool. (To make this raw you could use sprouted quinoa.)

1 small red onion, sliced thinly.

1/2 a romaine lettuce, chopped however you like.

1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed. (To make this raw you could use sprouted chick peas.)

Ingredients: Dressing

A large handful of cashew nuts. (The non-flavoured or salted kind.)

A large shallot, chopped finely.

A dash of balsamic vinegar.

2 teaspoons of dijon mustard.

1 teaspoon agave nectar

A pinch of sea salt.

Method:

In a large mixing bowl, mix all of the salad ingredients together and leave to one side.

Then place the cashews and shallot into a food processor and pulse on and off to get them chopped up quite finely.

Add the rest of the dressing ingredients and pulse on and off for a couple of minutes until you have a type of paste to pour on top.

Then eat your delicious salad which is only 375 calories and has 17g of protein. Get in!

Thrive Banana & Coconut Pie (Raw)

April 17, 2013April 22, 2013 / Frankie Mouche / 1 Comment

This is something that Mykey made me whilst I tidied the house. It made enough for me and him to have it as a post workout protein cake for a week. I apologise for American measurements. He kind of made it up as he went along and it came out great.

Crust:

1 cup hemp protein powder
1 cup dates
1/2 cup coconut, shredded
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh ginger

Filling:

2 bananas
1 pear
1tbsp fresh ginger
1/2 cup coconut
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup macadamias, soaked
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1/2 tsp salt

Procedure

Make crust by putting all ingredients into food processor and processing until dough like. Remove and spread out onto a pie plate, pack down. Put all filling ingredients into food processor and process until creamy. Fill pie crust by evenly spreading out filling. Put in the freezer for about 60 minutes.

Don’t forget that because this is basically a raw dish, it’s very nutrient dense whilst lower in calories. Eat raw food and clean whole foods often to obtain maximum level of health.

Let’s talk about fats baby! Let’s talk about you & me!

April 9, 2013 / Frankie Mouche / 1 Comment

Fat gets a really bad rep in the media. Low fat this and low fat that. A healthy vegan diet is naturally low in fat. We must strive to remember however that fats help in the transportation of certain vitamins around the body, improve skin and hair, insulate and protect your internal organs and especially the fatty acids, help with nervous function and therefore brain power.

If you eat junk food that is laden with fat and do very little exercise, of course you’re going to put on weight. You can also be at risk of heart disease and cancer. However if you eat a small amount of healthy fat each day, you can improve your health, lose/maintain weight and look great.

So what are the fats to avoid?

Chinese takeways or any takeaways for that matter are often deep fried in vegetable oils or lard. An average takeaway can have up to 20 grams of fat. That’s a woman’s entirely RDA. Having a takeaway isn’t forbidden, but it’s probably better to make it more of a rare thing than a regular thing.

100 grams of crisps (a couple of bags) contains over 30 grams of fat. Don’t even think about going for the low fat versions either. Cut them out altogether. They are nutritionally void, especially if you’re trying to lose weight or stay fit.

Fast food burgers and chips are again absolutely full of fat and especially trans and saturated fat which are really bad for your heart and circulatory system.

Cakes and sweets are also loaded with unnecessary fat that you don’t need.

junk-food-sm

What are good sources of fat then?

Linseed and flaxseed. I put half a teaspoon in a smoothie or on porridge everyday and it doesn’t taste of anything.

Now this might surprise you, but leafy green vegetables. They don’t provide huge amounts, but they do have enough Omega 3’s to keep you going. I love kale and spinach and I’ll eat it for both lunch and dinner if I can.

Avocados are quite calorific and that’s because they are full of good fats. As long as you don’t eat like 5 a day, you’ll be fine. I generally have about 3 a week and normally in salad, although I do like making guacamole out of them.

Nuts and especially almonds and hazelnuts. They are at their best when they are unsalted and eaten as a snack instead of a bag of crisps. images

Good luck guys and make healthy choices.

Saf – Kensington

April 9, 2013April 9, 2013 / Frankie Mouche / Leave a comment

Mykey and I do occasionally like to splash out on an exquisite meal and our visit to Saf in Kensington ticked all of the boxes. Now situated on the first floor of Wholefoods on Kensington High Street, it’s about 200 metres from the tube station.

For an aperitif we had a bourbon cocktail which is described in there menu like this:

Kentucky On My Mind
For those who love to try something different. A very delicate taste of Heaven Hill bourbon mixed with triple sec, fresh apple juice, fresh lemon juice and orange bitters. Served with a slice of dehydrated apple

It was absolutely delicious and bourbon was of a very high quality and this is coming from someone who normally refuses to drink it because they are a total whiskey snob. (That’ll be me!)

We also had some raw guacamole and crackers whilst we waited for our starters.

Raw Nachos with Guacamole

Hand cut raw potato and courgette nachos served with freshly made guacamole

The guacamole had a very bold feel. You could taste all the individual ingredients. Smooth avocado, crisp lime and a hint of chilli. The nachos were also delicious and they were available to buy from Saf in boxes.

When our starters came we also ordered two large glasses of red wine. It was thick and juicy, just how a red should be.

Malbec, Tizac

Catamarca, Argentina
Cigar box fruit, blackberries with just the right level of tannins are what to expect here.

Mykey had some gyoza and I had some dolmades. (Quite funny seeing as my favourite food is Japanese and his is Italian.)

Spinach & Sorrel Gyoza

Grilled rice pastry dumplings filled with spinach, sorrel and courgettes served with a tamari-sesame vinaigrette

Cheese & Cauliflower Dolmades

£6

Vine leaves stuffed with our signature tarragon cashew cheese, cauliflower rice and fresh herbs, served with lemon-aioli dip and herb oil

The cashew cheese was to die for. I really need to learn how to make it because they were the best dolmades I have ever eaten. Mykey’s gyozas were smothered in a spiced vinaigrette which gave them a great kick. (Of course I stole a bite. Who wouldn’t?)

For our main courses I went for a raw lasagne and Mykey went for a noodle and tofu dish. Again we both tried each other’s food. The vegetables in Mykey’s dish were cooked to perfection. Not too hard and not too soft and the tofu was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, just the way it should be. The walnut, almond and sun dried tomato sauce on my lasagne totally blew me away. It really made the whole dish, but didn’t overwhelm the other flavours.

Lo Han Chai
An energizing bowl of rice noodles with tamari marinated shiitake mushroom, sautéed baby spinach, mange tout and courgettes, grilled baby corn, grilled organic Saf brand tofu and water chestnuts
Lasagna Verde
Layers of courgette, marinated spinach, walnut almond and sun-dried tomato bolognese and a cashew and yellow pepper béchamel sauce served with a green herb pesto and side salad

Dessert is quite often off of the menu for us at normal restaurants, so when we go to a vegan place we have to indulge. We shared ice cream and sorbet and also a Victoria sponge trifle. We spent the whole time we were eating the ice cream and sorbet guessing what the flavours were and we were totally wrong when we asked the server what they were. Haha! I still can’t remember what they were, but they were delicious and very unusual combinations. The Victoria sponge trifle is something that I need to go away and learn how to make. That would win Come Dine With Me it was so good. I sat there making mmmmm noises with each mouthful.

Ice Cream & Sorbet
Three scoops of our signature ice cream and sorbet served with crispy rhubarb biscuits. Please ask your server for daily specials
Victoria Sponge Trifle
Traditional and indulgent British pudding done Saf style, with raw vanilla cream, forest berry coulis, and soft sponge cake pieces

When we had finished our meal, we had to dash because we had spent too much time getting involved with our food that we were running late for our gig that evening. Luckily eating a majority raw and wholefood meal kept us full of energy the whole night and we didn’t feel sluggish at all as we often do after heavy cooked meals.

At £84 it wasn’t cheap, but we did have absolutely everything on the menu including alcohol. I’ll give Saf a 9/10 only because it was so expensive.The staff were very friendly and knowledgeable. Well and truly recommended.

http://www.safrestaurant.co.uk

Red Lentil & Cauliflower Curry

April 8, 2013 / Frankie Mouche / 1 Comment

This recipe is from the glorious book, Veganomicon. If you’re vegan and you don’t have this book, GET IT! It’s amazing!

This dish makes enough for four people because both Mykey and I had it for dinner and then had it for lunch the next day.

Ingredients:

3 teaspoons of oil
2 large onions, chopped
2 chilli peppers, minced (I used jalapenos.)
1/2 inch of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 large parsnip, peeled and chopped
1/2 a teaspoon of turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, coriander and salt
2 teaspoons of curry powder (I went for a medium spice)
2 big handfuls of red lentils, rinsed
250ml vegetable stock
3/4 of a head of cauliflower
2 tablespoons of lime juice

Method:

In a large pan heat your oil.
Saute the onion for about 4 minutes.
Add the grated ginger and chilli and stir for another minute.
Add the spices, parsnip, lentils and cauliflower and stir briskly for another minute.

Add vegetable stock and mix in.
Allow to cook on a gentle heat for 30 minutes stirring every 5 minutes or so.

Leave to cool for 10 minutes to allow for the flavors to meld.
Sprinkle with some lime juice and serve.

Chic Pea, Spinach & Red Pepper Medley

April 4, 2013April 4, 2013 / Frankie Mouche / Leave a comment

This dish is brilliant for protein, iron and calcium. I often eat this as a post workout meal You can also make it raw by sprouting the chic peas and not cooking the spinach or red pepper.

Ingredients:

Either a can or 400g of soaked chic peas.
A whole red bell pepper, chopped.
A handful of washed baby leaf spinach.
1 Tsp. olive oil.
1 Tsp of parsley, basil and sea salt.

Method:

Heat chic peas in water for 10 minutes if from a can and 20 minutes if soaked.

Fry the red pepper and baby leaf spinach in the olive oil for 5/6 minutes.

Drain the chic peas and mix in with the pepper and spinach.
Add parsley, basil and sea salt.
Serve warm or cold for lunch the next day.

Butter bean, aubergine and paprika stew

March 26, 2013March 26, 2013 / Frankie Mouche / 1 Comment

I found this recipe whilst in my local Tesco recently and instantly believed I could veganise it. It even has a top tip for a veggie version. This is a low-calorie, but filling dish. Each serving is only 92 calories, however if you are looking for more calories, the recipe suggests to serve with toast. I just had a double portion because I was hungry!

Ingredients:

A whole aubergine, chopped into half moons.

1 onion, chopped.

1 garlic clove chopped.

2 tsp. rosemary

1.5 tsp. paprika

1x400g tin of peeled cherry tomatoes. (Tesco actually sell these in their Finest range and they were worth the extra few pennies.)

2x 400g tin of butter beans, drained.

230g red peppers, sliced and chopped.

Method:

Place the peppers and aubergine in a roasting tin, drizzle some oil on top and cook in the oven for 25 minutes.

In the mean time, fry the onion is a small amount of oil until soft. Then add the herbs, spices, butter beans and tomatoes and leave to simmer on a low heat. (This will allow the flavours to mix together properly.)

When the peppers and aubergine are cooked, mix in with the butter beans etc. and cook through for about five minutes.

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Queer Vegan

Food, fitness and culture from a queer, vegan, metal head.

diet

Sausage gnocchi with warm spring greens & bean salad

Raw Coconut & Date Cookies

Thai Green Curry

Everyday Chickpea & Quinoa Salad

Thrive Banana & Coconut Pie (Raw)

Let’s talk about fats baby! Let’s talk about you & me!

Saf – Kensington

Red Lentil & Cauliflower Curry

Chic Pea, Spinach & Red Pepper Medley

Butter bean, aubergine and paprika stew