Vegan Macaroons...Kind Of

So I've been struggling to come up with pretty "high tea" type vegan food I can serve at my wedding and I was desperate to have vegan French macaroons. After many failed attempts this is the best I could come up with. They don't really taste like macaroons but they are nice and for all intensive purposes they look the part :)

Vegan Macaroons...Kind Of

Ingredients

90g Egg replacer (I used Orgran's No Egg)
250ml cold water
1 tsp vanilla extract
125g icing sugar (sieved)
1/2 tsp agar agar powder (or pectin)
1 Tbls brown sugar
2 drops of colouring (optional)

For filling;


225g vegan butter (I used Nuttalex)
350g icing sugar
1 Tbls non-dairy milk (optional)
2 drops food colouring (optional)


Method

Preheat oven to 130C and get two baking trays prepared with baking paper (and a whisper of olive oil or coconut oil spray).
In a large bowl place egg replacer, agar agar powder and water and beat on high for 5 minutes.
Add vanilla extract, colouring, brown sugar and icing sugar (1/3 at a time) and beat for a further 5 minutes.
Pipe mixture on the baking trays in small rounds and bake for 2 hours.
If you prefer them a bit softer only bake for 1.5 hours.
(I've had feedback that this is a bit long so try for an hour and see how they look, mine were too soft at that point but it will depend on your oven).
Let cool on tray before adding filling.
Use a butter knife to gently smooth filling onto flip side of macaroon and place second macaroon on top.


For filling;

In a large mixing bowl add the vegan butter (at room temperature) and sifted icing sugar and beat until mixed.

Spoon's Vegetarian Butcher

Spoon's Vegetarian Butcher is AWESOME! I first discovered them at the Marrickville Markets as they have a range of gluten free vegan sausages and patties. They taste so good. Almost like a combination of meat and falafel. They have just opened a store at 175 Enmore Rd Enmore, open every day 10am - 6pm.

Mushroom & Brazil Nut Pate

I used the original recipe from Mouthwatering Vegan's "Festive Pecan Cognac Pate" and changed the ingredients. It was really good and tasted similar to what I remember pate tasting like.

Mushroom & Brazil Nut Pate

Ingredients

100 grams of brazil nuts (either ground in a nut grinder or just in a food processor)
10 Swiss brown mushrooms, chopped
2- 3 garlic cloves
2-3 sprigs of fresh flat leaf parsley
1 fresh sage leaf (optional)
1 tbsp vegan butter or margarine
salt to taste (don’t omit this please)
2 slices of fresh breadcrumbs
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp cognac (I used sherry)
Pinch of black pepper


Method

Place the mushrooms, nuts, garlic and parsley in a food blender and process until very fine (it will take a minute or so, so use your plastic spatula every few seconds to scrape off any excess on the sides of the bowl, and reprocess). Add a tablespoon on water if mixture is too sticky.
Now add the vegan butter, bread, olive oil and salt, and process for a further minute.  At this point add the remaining ingredients and process again for another minute.

Note: You can fry up the butter, garlic and mushrooms in a pan beforehand if you prefer the taste of cooked mushrooms.

Sage's Café - Salt Lake City

Sage's Café in Salt Lake City, Utah is 100% vegan and quite a lot of it is gluten free or can be made gluten free. Also owned by the Vertical Diner, Salt Lake City (which I'm still missing).

I had the Raw Cashew Pad Thai and my fiancé had the Mushroom Stroganoff (which wasn't gluten free but they can serve it with rice instead of wheat noodles). So delicious!

Mushroom Stroganoff

Raw Cashew Pad Thai

Shamefully showing off my ring :P

Vertical Diner - Salt Lake City

I found this amazing vegan café in Salt Lake City, Utah which also owns the Sage's Café. Everything on the menu looked a-mazing! And quite a lot of it was also gluten free yay! The Vertical Diner is a must visit for vegans in the area!

Here's my GF chocolate chip pancakes with chocolate & rasberry syrup...YUM!!!

He he...

I need to add more photos because I've been here so many times since I posted this blog (and to their sister restaurant Sage's Cafe)

2013-2014 Vegan Food Porn...

Amazing Veg Burrito

Cheezy Chili Fries

I think this is either the Mountain or the Gravy Train - both are amazeballs!

La Mesa

Namaste Indian Restaurant - Las Vegas

While in Las Vegas our favourite Thai place was booked out so we tried the Namaste Indian Restuarant which was across the road and to our delight they had a whole vegan section! It actually tells you on the menu what's vegan - so helpful and delicious!

Wynn Hotel & Casino - Las Vegas

The Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas is owned by Steve Wynn who is a vegan! So all his casual and fine dining restaurants have a separate vegan menu - so awesome! We ate at the Lakeside Restaurant and it was divine!

"Clam" Bisque

Quinoa Curry

Herb Frieswith Garlic Aioli and Marinated Musrooms

Komol Thai Restaurant - Las Vegas

I'm so in love with the Komol Thai Restaurant in Las Vegas. The food is amazing and everything on the menu is vegan and MSG free. Also most of the mock meats were gluten free! Winning!



Pura Vida Vegan Cafe - Las Vegas

If you're a vegan in Las Vegas the Pura Vida is a must to stop by, it's in a bit of an obscure area though so I recommend driving or cabbing. The owner and chef was an eccentric Cuban woman who was so full of life and compassion about being vegan. The cafe had an amazing vibe to it and the food was incredible. It's hard to describe but most of the dishes were Latin based but completely experimental and fused with other cultures. It was the most unique place. We went back three times and every time had some something different but equally as inventive and delicious - and sooo filling. I recommend sharing an appetizer and a main between two people cause the servings are big. Quite a lot of the menu was gluten free and if you want gluten free pancakes or waffles just call a day in advance.

Chili Cheese Potatoes

 "Tuna" Melt

 Rooibos Iced Tea

 Chai Latte

 Chili Cheese Potatoes (OMG sooo good)

Tres Amigos

Quesadilla

 Melted Cheese Puffs

Breakfast Quesadilla

Yulli's - Surry Hills

I had dinner at Yulli's in Surry Hills for the first time on Saturday night and it was sooo good. I had attemped to go once before but they were full...rejection :(
The restaurant is vegetarian but they have a separate vegan and gluten free menu so I was WINNING! The prices were pretty resonable too consider what a popular place it is, around $15 per main.

I had the Vietnamese Crepe filled with mushrooms, fresh veggies and water chestnuts and served with nuoc cham dipping sauce...YUM

"Beef" Tom Yum Soup

"Beef" Tom Yum

Ingredients

2 cups vegan beef chunks
4 Tbls vegan tom yum paste
2 litres water
2 cups oyster mushrooms (chopped)
2 cups pickled mustard* (drained and rinsed)
2 bunches bok choy (chopped)
2 bunches English spinach (chopped)
1 packet fried tofu
1 cup soy or broad beans (I used frozen)


Method

In a large saucepan boil water.
Once boiled whisk in tom yum paste.
Add beef, tofu, mushrooms and beans.
Turn heat down to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add book choy and English spinach and simmer until wilted.
Serve by itself or with vermicelli.


*Pickled mustard is a preserved Asian vegetable perfect in soups, available from Asian groceries.