Eurovision 2023! An International Food Extravaganza!

 We are die hard Eurovision fans in our house, so much so we invited our American friends over this year to enjoy in the splendor! I thought the best thing might be to try to have an international theme for finger food. Not all of it "European" but the thought was there lol

Mini Spinach and Feta Frittatas (which really could be Spain or France right??)

Brownies of course! 

Got to keep the American's happy (actually theses will keep everyone happy)

Australia (yes we are in Eurovision LOL) 

I always keep a stash hidden of Australian 100s & Thousands sprinkles for fairy bread! (White bread, Vegan margarine or butter, Aussie sprinkles) - This was my only non-GF item but you can make it GF

Side note: Aussie sprinkles are very different from the American ones, even if they look the same, they won't taste the same)

Sushi I know it not European but it's always a crowd pleaser and I was keen to try a Watermelon "Tuna" Sashimi recipe!

"Tuna" & Avocado, Avocado, Fried Shiitake Mushrooms with Spicy Mayo

Mini Spinach & Cheese Frittatas

Easy Mini Frittatas for your next gathering! You really can add your own ingredients. I made spinach and feta since it's always a crowd pleaser! Here is another recipe on the Just Egg website as well.

Mini Spinach & Cheese Frittatas

Ingredients

Just Egg - 1 bottle

1/2 tsp Black salt

I bag 10oz frozen spinach (defrosted and water squeezed out)

1/2 container Follow Your Heart feta crumbles or Parmesan

1/2 cup Follow your Heart or Violife shredded mozzarella (Miyoko's liquid Mozz would work well too)

1/2 onion, chopped finely

1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 375F.

Lightly sauté or fry the onion until clear and put aside.

In a mixing bowl mix the Just egg, pepper and black salt.

Add in other ingredient and combine.

Lightly oil spray your mini muffin tray and spoon around 2 Tbls of mixture into each space.

Bake for 20-30 minutes or until it looks mostly set and the bottom is slightly brown.

Leave to set and cool to near room temperature before serving.

The feta looks like it's melting everywhere but once it cools a bit it will set.

Watermelon "Tuna" Sashimi

I had this at an amazing restaurant called Planta Queen in Fort Lauderdale (highly recommend, other locations nationally) and hoped I was able to replicate it somehow. It really felt like I was eating salmon sashimi. I found this recipe on Australian website - Nourishing Magazine and changed it a little I've left the recipe for the sashimi in the top and added the sushi rice at the bottom if you want to turn it into sushi or nori rolls (shown with avocado). I would say the overall finished product wasn't bad but it just didn't have the tuna flavor I was hoping for.

Watermelon "Tuna" Sashimi 

Ingredients

¼ small seedless watermelon

3 Tbls sunflower oil

Marinade

2 Tbls tamari

2 Tbls mirin

1 Tbls Ume Plum Vinegar

2 tsp sesame oil

¼ cup rice vinegar

For serving

Pickled ginger

Wasabi paste

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C/350F.

For the watermelon sushi, cut two 10 x 2½cm blocks from the fruit without the skin. 

Add 2 Tbls of sunflower oil to an ovenproof dish and place the watermelon blocks in this. 

Drizzle with the remaining 1 Tbls of oil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. 

Remove from the oven to turn the watermelon over before returning it to bake for another 10 minutes, watching to make sure it doesn’t brown. 

Remove from the oven to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, combine the tamari, mirin, sesame oil and rice vinegar in a small bowl. 

When the watermelon has cooled slightly, pour the marinade over the top, cover with foil and sit it for 20 minutes before placing it in the fridge for at least 1 hour (or overnight).

I rebaked it after marinating for a day because I still found it a bit crunchy and this helped it become more chewy.

Serve with wasabi paste and pickled ginger.

For Watermelon Sushi;

Prepare Sushi Rice.

To assemble the sushi, form a handful of the sushi rice into a 5cm log and repeat with the remaining rice. Take the marinated watermelon and slice it on an angle to mimic tuna sushi before laying it over the rice. I like to dot wasabi paste on the rice before layering over the watermelon.

Top with pickled ginger to serve.

Vegan GF Funnel Cake

Having never made funnel cake before (or tasting it) it was great to get feedback from the family that this indeed did taste like funnel cake so yay! Great recipe that I modified to vegan from Fearless Dining.

Vegan GF Funnel Cake

Ingredients

1 ½ cups gluten free flour 

3 tablespoons vegan sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder 

2 egg replacers (I used powdered)

1 ¼ cups milk non-dairy (I used Ripple)

¼ cup vegan powdered sugar *for dusting!

Method

 

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. 

Use a wire whisk to mix the dry ingredients together.

In a small bowl, add the egg replacers and milk. 

Whisk to blend them together. 

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

Whisk the wet and dry ingredients into a nice funnel cake batter. 

The batter will be a little thicker than a pancake batter.

Heat your oil in either a cast-iron skillet or a Dutch oven. 

You want the oil to reach a temperature of 350º F. 

You can test the oil by putting a tiny drop of batter into the oil.

Pour the batter into a squeeze bottle. 

If you don't have a squeeze bottle, you can use a piping pastry bag or put some batter into a plastic zip bag. 

Squeeze the batter in a swirling motion into the hot oil. Try for a spiral pattern with the batter. 

Make the funnel cakes any size you like from large to small. 

Take the funnel cakes out of the hot oil and place them on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels.

Dust the top of the funnel cakes with powdered sugar.

Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad

My daughter pulled this from a TikTok video. Perfect side dish for any Asian bowl or meal :)

Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

10-20 Pickling cucumbers, sliced into 1/4" rounds

1/4 cup GF soy sauce

2 cloves garlics minced

1tsp ginger minced

2Tbls rice vinegar 

1/2-1 tsp chili oil

3 Tbls agave

2 Tbls sesame seeds

Method

Cover sliced cucumbers with salt for 5 mins, rinse well and drain.

Add all sauce ingredients into a small bowl and whisk till well combined.

Pour over drained cucumbers.

Asian Style Eggplant

Original recipe from The Delicious Crescent - I love that you can use regular eggplant! 

This is a great side dish for Asian style bowls and meals.

Asian Style Eggplant

Ingredients

1 pound eggplant Italian, Japanese or globe variety, medium size

¼ teaspoon salt some will be wiped out

4 tablespoons sesame oil divided

1 tablespoons sesame seeds toasted

1 tablespoon ginger peeled and minced

2 cloves garlic grated, optional

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes mild or chopped red chili pepper

½ teaspoon paprika try smoked paprika, optional

2 tablespoons soy sauce low sodium, adjust per taste

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 teaspoon maple syrup or sugar

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons chopped green onions

Salt adjust per soy sauce

Method

Preheat oven to 425F.

Wash the eggplant, wipe it dry and cut it into ¾ inch slices. 

Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper (I use silicon baking mats which are reusable and easy to clean!)

Pat dry eggplant with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. 

Slice into 1/3" rounds and brush the slices evenly with about 2 tablespoons oil. 

Arrange eggplant in a single layer.

Bake until fork tender for about 30 to 35 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a saute pan, heat remaining oil at medium high. Add sesame seeds and toast lightly. 

Add ginger, garlic and stir then add red pepper flakes and paprika. 

Turn off the heat and let the spices steep in oil for 2 minutes, until they release some color. 

Stir in soy sauce, vinegar and maple syrup.

Add roasted eggplant, green onions, cilantro and toss well to coat. 

Serve with steamed rice. I used as part of an Asian style bowl for lunch prep.

Quiche Lorraine

Adapted vegan/GF from Quiche Lorraine recipe by Craig Claiborne in the NY Times.

Vegan Quiche Lorraine

Ingredients

Pastry for a one-crust nine-inch pie (I love Wholly Wholesome premade pie crust)

1/2 bag Louisville Vegan Toppin's - Bacon Bits

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 cup vegan cheese of choice. I used Miyoko's liquid mozzarella.

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, I used Follow Your Heart Parmesan 

1 Bottle of Just Egg 

1/2 tsp black salt (kala namak)

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Line a nine-inch pie plate with the pastry. The Wholly Wholesome is already in the pie dish so done!

Bake 10 minutes.

Reduce the oven heat to 375 degrees. Take out pie crust and set aside.

Cook the onion in the a small amount of olive oil until the onion is transparent. Set aside.

In a bowl add the Just Eggs, black salt, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste, whisk to combine. Add in bacon bits, onion and cheese.

The recipe says to layer the bottom of the pie crust with the bacon bits, onion and cheese and then pour over the egg mixture.

Slide the pie onto a baking sheet.

Bake the pie until a knife inserted one inch from the pastry edge comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Remove to a wire rack. Let stand five or 10 minutes before serving.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

 Original recipe from Nora Cooks.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Ingredients

2 Tbls olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium russet potato, peeled and chopped

3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup raw cashews

4 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1-2 cups water, as needed (see instructions)

4 cups broccoli, finely chopped

2 cups shredded vegan cheddar cheese (I didn't have any so I used a 1/2 disc of Miyoko's Farmhouse Cheddar and some Violife Feta)

Method

 

In a large soup pot, sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil for 2-3 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently.

To the pot, add the potato, carrots, cashews, vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika and salt. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, until fork tender.

Working in batches if needed, transfer the soup carefully to a blender and blend until very smooth.

Return the mixture back to the pot. 

If your soup is too thick, add water until a desired consistency is reached (I used 1 cup of water). 

Add in the bite sized broccoli florets and cheese, if using, and stir into the soup. I included the broccoli in the soup and pureed all of it because my kids don't like visible vegetables LOL

Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer for 10 minutes, until the broccoli is soft and cooked. 

The cheese should also be melted into the soup.

Serve, topping with more vegan cheddar cheese shreds, if desired. I topped with feta.

Grandma Liz’s NYE Lentil soup

This is a tradition in Italian culture, they eat a deliciously nutritious lentil soup on NYE. Lenticchie (lentils) are believed to bring good luck and prosperity in the coming year to those who eat them on New Year's Eve. 

An Italian gentleman I work with gave me his mother’s recipe that has been passed down over the generations so of course I have to keep the name to honor that beautiful tradition! And I only had to change it slightly to make it vegan!

Grandma Liz’s Lentil soup 

Ingredients

1 bag lentils (1lb/450g) rinse and take out any bad ones 

48oz/1.5L of veggie broth

4 stalks of celery chopped or sliced

6-8 Carrots chopped or sliced (as many as you like really)

Pinch Paprika for color

Dash of garlic powder

Salt and pepper to your taste

Pinch red pepper flakes (optional)

Method

Add all ingredients to a large pot and bring to boil. 

Add more water if it becomes too thick. (Some Italians eat the soup thick, some soupy -just go with your preference)

I did mine in the slow cooker for 8 hours until lentils were soft. 

Taste and add seasoning as needed.

Turn off heat and add a drizzle of olive oil to coat top - to taste, you can add more olive oil if needed.

I used Mountain Town Olive Oil Co. California Garlic Olive Oil - so good!

Thai Basil Fried Rice

 I changed this recipe a bit from the original. Found on Seonkyoung Longest blog.

Thai Basil Fried Rice

Ingredients

5 Garlic Cloves

1-5 Thai Chilis (Depended on spice level- I used 2)

1 medium shallot, small onion or green onions, chopped

2 Tbls Vegan oyster sauce (mushroom based)

1 Tbls spoon vegan fish sauce

1 Tbls GF soy sauce

1 Tbls palm sugar

1/4 tsp white pepper

2 Tbls vegan butter

12oz extra firm tofu, textured soy curls or vegan chicken pieces

2 vegan eggs (I used the Just Egg squares) - optional

2.5 cups cold jasmine rice

Handful of Thai basil (no it can't be regular basil)

Method

Add chili and garlic to a pestle and mortar and grind to create a paste.

Chop onion and set aside with garlic/chili mixture.

Mix sauce ingredients (vegan oyster sauce, fish sauce, palm sugar, pepper, soy sauce) together in a bowl and set aside.

Heat a wok or large skillet over a medium-high heat and add butter, faux chicken, garlic/chili mix and onion and mix for a couple of minutes until faux chicken is seared.

If using tofu instead of egg fry separately and set aside. I used Just Egg squares and just put them in the toaster and then chopped them up to add at the end.

Add vegan eggs with the faux chicken, garlic, chili, onion mixture to the wok and mix together well.

Pour in sauce and let simmer a moment until sugar is melted.

Add in cold rice in slowly and toss everything together until rice is covered in sauce.

Heat for around 3 minutes and then add in the basil and turn off the heat.

I like to serve with a side of steamed bok choy drizzled with vegan oyster sauce and sesame oil.

Notes:

You can sub faux egg with soft crumbled tofu, sprinkled with some Black Salt if you wanted to include the egg flavor but not the processed product.

For textured soy curls, dehydrate in some veggie stock before frying.