Vegan Goulash

Although my Grandma is Hungarian she never cooked Goulash. I asked her once why not and she said "I don't like it" LOL. Well you can't argue with that logic.
I got this recipe from Vegan Mania and it was really tasty, although I changed some of the mesurements and ingredients. It was a bit salty so I've moderated the ingredients according to how I think it will improve it :)
I served it with Hungarian Noodles (or "noodlies" as my Grandma calls them) which are basically dumplings.
It's slow cooking so around 15 min prep time and an hour simmering.

Vegan Goulash with Portobello Mushrooms

 Ingredients

1 large white onions, chopped fine
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 portabella mushroom caps, cleaned and chopped into large chunks
1 handful of English spinach, washed
1 eggplant, chopped
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
5 heaping tablespoons of fresh quality paprika (sweet or plain)
1/3 cup of tomato paste
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 soy sauce (optional)
1/4 cup liquid sweetener (optional)
5 cups vegetable stock
1 cups water
1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp marjoram
2 tsp apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice of 1/2 lemon)

Note: Other vegetables that go well with this dish are potatoes, zucchini & capsicum.


Method

Heat the oil in a large pot on a medium heat and add the onions, eggplant and garlic.

Sauté for 10 mins or until they are just starting to turn golden, stirring frequently.

Remove from heat and add the paprika and stir it in well. (You do not want to fry the paprika as this will alter the taste.)

Add the water and stock, the chopped mushrooms caps, tomato paste and all other seasonings except for the apple cider vinegar.

Return to heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow it to simmer on low, uncovered, for at least one hour, stirring occasionally.

The sauce should reduce by almost half and become quite thick.

(If you prefer your goulash to be more like a soup, you can thin it with extra water or stock but I prefer it to be more like a very thick stew.)
Taste, add more salt or stock if desired. If too salty, simmer down with some water.

Once thickened, add vinegar and serve with noodles or your choice of grains. You can also serve with vegan sour cream and bread, rice or paprika potatoes. YUM

If you're using dumplings, prepare while you're goulash is simmering.

Raspberry Smoothie

Simple smoothie for a quick breakfast treat! Yummy

Raspberry Smoothie


Ingredients

1 cup frozen raspberries
1 cup non-dairy milk
1 banana (fresh or frozen)


Method

Blend in high power blender till smooth

Paprika Potatoes

This is a traditional Hungarian recipe that is normally also served with sausage so you can add chunks of vegan sausage to the oil at the same time as the potatoes.

Paprika Potatoes


Ingredients

4 large white potatoes
2 tsp Hungarian paprika (sweet or smoked is fine also)
1 tsp salt
2 Tbls olive oil


Method

In a large saucepan boil enough water to fit your potatoes.
Add potatoes and cook until cooked but still firm.
Take off heat and allow to cool completely before peeling skin.
Cut potatoes into chunks.
In a large frying pan heat olive oil on medium and add potatoes.
Stir frequently until potatoes are browned/crisp on the outside.
Take off heat and add paprika and mix well.
Sere sprinkled with salt.

Choices Gluten Free Bakery

I thought I'd take a minute to mention Choices Gluten Free Bakery in Sydney.
They make a wide range of gluten free bakery products and most are also vegan! Yay!
Think gluten free AND vegan; finger buns, hot cross buns, garlic bread, English muffins, baguettes, pizza bases, apple crumble & pie, English muffins, bagels + breads... oh my!
Located in Bella Vista, Turramurra, MonaVale and Bondi Junction - they also have an online store with delivery (I got a whole box of stuff for $5 delivery). You can even search via certain criteria so you know everything you have is dairy free! Just a note: there's no "vegan" tag so the items might still contain gelatine or meat. All ingredients are listed though.

Dark Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Cookies

I got this recipe from Maple Spice. These cookies are so delicious! They're like jaffa cookies, yum  yum yum! I ate my body weight in them this afternoon and now feel a little bit ill so try not to do that :)

Dark Chocolate Orange Hazelnut Cookies
makes 18

Ingredients


180g vegan butter (3/4 cup)
140g golden caster sugar (2/3 cups) or regular granulated sugar. (I used evaporated sugar can juice)
200g GF plain flour (1 1/2 cups - level)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp fine orange zest, I use a microplane grater.
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g dark chocolate chips or a chopped bar (2/3 cups)
80g chopped roasted skinned hazelnuts (2/3 cups)

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line a couple of baking sheets with baking paper.

Place walnuts on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes, shaking every 5 minutes.
Remove and transfer to a plate to cool enough that you can handle them.
Now chop them (or as I did put them in a zip lock bag and smash them with a rolling pin).
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
In a large bowl beat together the vegan butter and sugar until light and well blended. Add the orange zest and vanilla extract and mix well.
Add the flour mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until it just comes together.
Add the chocolate and hazelnuts and stir until evenly mixed.
Drop by a tablespoon onto the lined sheets a couple of inches apart, as these don't spread out a lot while baking don't pile them too high, press down on them with a fork.
Bake for 12 - 15 minutes or until lightly golden at the edges and firm to the touch.
Don't worry if they seem soft in the middle because they will be fine once cooled.
Remove from the oven and leave on the tray for a couple of minutes then transfer to a wire rack to fully cool.

Mixed Bean Salad

My friend made me the most divine warm bean salad but can't find the recipe and so I tried to recreate it and failed because it's completely different but this was still good and healthy! The olives were a bit strong so I'm not including them in the recipe.

Mixed Bean Salad

Ingedients

1 large can of mixed beans, rinsed and drained
Handful of lettuce of your choice, washed and broken up
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, drained
1/2 red onion, chopped
Handful of fresh coriander, washed and chopped
1Tbl olive oil (for frying)
1 Tbls olive oil for dressing
1 Tbls balsamic vinegar for dressing


Method

In a frying pan add olive oil and on a medium heat saute onions until soft.
Add beans and tomatoes until heated through.
Toss olive oil and balsamic vinegar through and take off heat.
Mix through coriander and lettuce and serve.

Vegetable Pot Pie

I got this recipe from Smith's Vegan Kitchen and it was sooo yummy. I think I might use vege stock next time instead of water. I didn't use the pie crust receipe because I had bought some vegan/gluten free puff pastry that I wanted to try!

Vegetable Pot Pie

Marinade Ingredients:

3/4 cup water
3/4 cup white wine/red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/2 teas. sage
1/2 teas. thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
300g tofu or tempeh, chopped into cubes


Method:

Preheat oven to 180C.
In a casserole or medium pan, whisk together all marinade ingredients. Add seitan and marinate 20-30 minutes
Drain, reserving the liquid.
Bake on an oiled sheet pan 20-30 minutes, stirring twice. Set aside.


Pie Filling:

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, thinly sliced
3 medium potatoes, diced
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup frozen peas
2/3 cup GF flour


Method

Preheat the oven to 180 C.
Sauté the onion, carrot, and potato in a large pan or pot until almost soft.
Add the celery; cook 5 minutes and add peas.
Add 1/2 – 2/3 cup of unbleached flour to the reserved liquid, and stir well.
Pour slowly over the vegetable mixture, then add seitan or tofu.
Cook until thick, about 5 minutes.
Pour into a 4-quart greased casserole dish, top with a prepared pie crust and bake 35-40 minutes.


Pie Crust:  (makes 2 crusts)


Ingredients:

1 cup unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup soy margarine
1/4-1/3 cup ice water


Method

In a medium bowl, stir the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or fork. Cut in the margarine until the dough is crumbly and pebble-like. Make a well in the center of the bowl, and add the ice water. Mix until the dough forms a ball. You may need to drizzle a little more water to get it to the point where it will hold together. Shape into a ball and divide in half.
Roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick on a floured board or countertop.  Add to top of casserole.