Red Lentil & Sweet Potato Soup

Happy new year, dear readers! I hope that 2014 will be a wonderful year for all of you, filled with much love and happiness! Of course, may it also be filled with good food!

At this time of year, many of us (myself included) vow to live a healthier lifestyle in the year ahead. It is also at this time of year, that we all tend to feel the after-effects of indulging over Christmas and New Year. What better way to get back on track than with clean and simple food like this soup. Thanks to the sweet potato, this really is a meal in a bowl, so we tend to enjoy it without bread on the side. Nourishing, comforting, and fuss-free... a great way to start the year I think :)

Red Lentil & Sweet Potato Soup
An adapted recipe from Australian Good Taste, July 2000

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 brown onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
500g orange sweet potato, peeled and roughly chopped
110g (1/2c cup) dried split red lentils, rinsed
3.5 cups vegetable stock
1 zuchinni, coarsely grated
salt and pepper, to taste

Method
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds, and once they start to darken and are aromatic, add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes or until the onion softens slightly.
2. Add the sweet potato, lentils and stock to the saucepan and stir well to combine. Increase the heat to high and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook, covered, stirring frequently, for 20-25 minutes or until the lentils are tender.
3. Stir in the zucchini and cook, uncovered, for 3 minuted. Season to taste and serve.


Anna x

Satvik Foods & a Giveaway!

A little while back, I was fortunate enough to receive this lovely bundle of products to road test by Australian company Satvik Foods.

I am usually a little sceptical when it comes to 'readymade' foods, as I worry about the ingredients and processing, but the Satvik Foods range is a little different. These packets of goodness are pretty straightforward - no nasties, no unpronouncables, no numbers.. just real ingredients. Lentils, quinoa, Ayurvedic spice blends, and salt.

On days when you are short on time and just want to get the food on the table, readymade mixes like these are a Godsend. Preparation of a healthy and delicious meal is made so simple with these mixes - there is no soaking required and they are fool proof! You can follow the packet instructions, or get a little creative and add extra ingredients.

I am in love with the dhal and spice range, in particular, 'Mystic Masala'. For this one, all you have to do is heat a little oil, add the mix, then add chopped tomato, coconut milk and water. Then a short time later you have delicious comforting dhal ready! I love the addition of nigella seeds to the spice blend, it tastes so good. I added a little extra salt, a good squeeze of lemon and fresh coriander (not pictured) and honestly, without any exaggeration, it was the best dhal I have tasted in a longgg time!

The Satvik Foods range is available in many health stores, and online through the Satvik Foods website. But, without further ado, here is the best part...

IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME!

To WIN a $30 pack of Satvik Foods, all you have to do is leave a brief comment on this post saying why you would like to try this product range.

This giveaway is open only to Australian residents, and closes on Monday, December 16th at 5pm AEST. Please be sure to enter your name and email address in the comment form to submit a valid entry.

*** This competition has now closed. Congratulations to Sue! ***

Good luck! xx

Botanica, Red Hill

This is my new favourite takeaway in Brisbane.

For me, it ticks a lot of boxes. It's quick; it's healthy; I can eat everything on the menu; and, oh.my.word... it is DELICIOUS! If you love feeling good about what you eat, then Botanica is worth a visit.

Located in Red Hill, Botanica was opened by owners Ali and Brett Hutley at the beginning of this year. Not only has it become a hit with locals, but has become known as the place for salads in Brisbane. And don't let its size fool you.. although small, Botanica offers a lot for a small eatery! There are up to eight fresh, hearty salads daily, all of which are either vegan or vegetarian.

Botanica is takeaway only, and takeaway boxes come in three sizes. The family size feeds 4+ for $25; the medium 2-4 for $15; and the small $10. I opted for the medium size to feed Mr Ladybird and I for lunch, and was surprised with how much salad could be packed in so neatly! I opted for a little of each salad as they all looked so good.

From left to right, the menu was as follows:
Brown rice with roast vegetables, baby spinach and soy and coriander dressing
Raw beetroot with orange, mint and fetta
Shaved broccoli with cranberries, almonds and garlic cashew cream
Potato, pea and dill salad with green tahini
Red cabbage with parmesan and walnut crumb and Dijon vinaigrette
Kale and parmesan salad with sourdough croutons and roast garlic vinaigrette
Mougrabeh with roast sweet potato and onion, supergreen pesto and baby spinach

All were so tasty, bursting with flavour and with the perfect amount of seasoning and dressing. The kale salad was the winner for me. I could eat that every.single.day. Yum! The medium box filled us up for lunch, plus there were leftovers to have along with dinner.

Also worth mentioning is the beautiful selection of freshly baked gluten-free sweet treats on offer daily at Botanica. When I visited, there were cinnamon bundt donuts, Callebaut chocolate fudge cookies, cherry white chocolate and sour cream muffins... just to name a few! So tempting, but I declined on this occasion. I guess I'll just have to visit again, for salads and maybe more! ;)

Botanica
9/1 Enoggera Tce, Red Hill
QLD 4059
Ph: (07) 3367 3334
http://www.botanicarealfood.com.au

Vina Vegetarian Restaurant, Newtown

Mr Ladybird and I headed to Vina Vegetarian Restaurant on Wednesday last week. Things can be quite busy at this time of year, so we were keen to have the night off from kitchen duties mid-week. Newtown was absolutely bustling for a Wednesday night! The ambience at Vina is not the drawcard at this family run business however the the food is.

I was keen to go to Vina for dinner in part because I had a hankering for some vegetarian sweet & sour 'pork'and I was sure that Vina would offer something similar on their menu. I'm not normally one for fake meat, but the veg version of sweet and sour pork makes me go weak at the knees! What can I say...? It's a guilty pleasure...

Once seated we peruse the extensive Vietnamese menu over some Jasmine tea. Vegetarians and vegans are certainly spoilt for choice here, so it takes us a little while to decide on what we want!

We order, and a short while later our entrees arrive. we hungrily tuck into the lightly fried tofu and vegan spring rolls. Both are delicious, particularly the crunchy spring rolls. Neither is too heavy so we still have a healthy appetite for our main dishes.

For our mains we order a mock chicken curry and mock pork in a sweet and sour sauce. The curry is delicious, but the mock pork dish is a bit disappointing - not quite the crunchy, deep-fried balls with sticky sauce that I had envisioned... Despite this, it is great to get a good serve of fresh vegetables in each dish.



All in all, a good meal from Vina. The staff did incredibly well to manage the restaurant when it so busy, and they are always so nice that it's ok if you have to wait a little bit. Vina is also a little better value than Green Palace Thai Vegetarian further up King St in Newtown, so do give Vina a go if you're looking for vegan/vegetarian options in Newtown.

Vina Vietnamese Vegetarian Restaurant

395 King St, Newtown NSW

(02) 9557 0456

Ladybird x

South Indian Vegetable Curry

This year has been a bit up and down for me health-wise, and so all things health have been on my mind of late. It will all be fine, but it's been a little emotionally and physically exhausting at times... In the spirit of good health I bookmarked this recipe in this month's Cookbook of the Month, 'Kitchen' by Nigella Lawson. It is a great way to pack loads of vegetables into a delicious curry.

Indian cuisines features regularly in the Ladybird household for two key reasons. First, Mr Ladybird and I both love indian vegetarian cuisine and all of its glorious diversity and, secondly, Mr Ladybird is Indian-Australian so indian food is close to his heart.

For me, dry roasting spices (cumin and coriander in this case) in a pan and then grinding them in the mortar and pestle is well worth the effort. It tastes so much better than packaged ground spices!

South Indian Vegetable Curry (serves 6)
Recipe adapted from Kitchen by Nigella Lawson - items in italics are either new additions, or ingredients where the original quantity has been altered.

2 x 15ml tablespoons canola oil
1 onion, peeled, halved and cut into half moons
1 large garlic clove, chopped
sea salt flakes
1 green chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
2cm chunk fresh ginger, peeled and cut into fine strips
1/4 teaspoon crushed chilli flakes
good pinch mustard seeds
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin
1 heaped teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 x 400ml can coconut milk
600ml vegetable stock
approx 2 teaspoons raw sugar
1 x 15ml tablespoon tamarind paste
350g cauliflower, broken into florets
100g fine beans, trimmed and halved
125g baby corn, halved
150g sugar snap peas
2 x 15ml tablespoons chopped coriander

Method

1. Heat the oil in a thick-bottom casserole or large saucepan and add the mustard seeds. Once they have almost finished popping, immediately add the sliced onion and garlic sprinkled with some sea salt and fry until it begins to soften, then add the chopped fresh chilli and ginger strips and stir every now and again while cooking for a minute.

2. Now add the crushed chilli flakes, the turmeric, and ground cumin, coriander and ginger. Stir well and cook for another minute or so before pouring in the coconut milk, stock ,sugar and tamarind paste. Stir to combine.

3. Bring to the boil, add the cauliflower florets and baby corn first and cook for 10 minutes, then add the other vegetables. Check the vegetables after about 5 minutes or so to see if they are almost done, letting them cook for longer if they need it.

4. Once the vegetables are tender season well to taste with salt (and sugar if needed). Sprinkle with the fresh coriander, in a bowl on top of some basmati rice or with some warmed Indian flatbread on the side for dunking.

The Verdict
I tweaked this recipe quite a bit because I felt that it needed a bit more 'oomph'... not that it wouldn't have been nice otherwise, but because I personally found it slightly insipid without the extras. Everyone's palate is different though...


Till next time...

Ladybird x

Bodhi in the Park, Sydney CBD

There's something special about yum cha that makes it just perfect on weekends. The way you dine when having yum cha - a little bit of this, a little bit of that, sipping on tea, chatting with friends - it simply says... It's the weekend, relax!

Mr Ladybird and I headed to Bodhi in the Park last weekend where we met up with friends H and Z for yum cha together. For Mr Ladybird and I, it was our first visit to the venue and we were astonished when the address in hand lead us to a restaurant inconspicuously nestled right behind the cathedral and Phillip Park swimming pool on College Street in the city. We have both walked along College Street so many times but had never noticed the restaurant!

Bodhi in the Park is a popular Sydney fixture and has been there for some 20 years and is a family-run business.

It was a beautiful Spring afternoon, so we were only too happy to join other patrons outside in the dappled sunlight, so we make our way to a table outside to join our friends. While putting my bag down, an older lady working at the restaurant (a manager, possibly), bumps into me while getting past me and I almost fall down the stairs to the lower terrace area in the process! I let out a squeal and grab hold of the railing, all of which goes unnoticed by the staff member, and without apology.

We laugh it off as I take a seat, and the fantastic range of yum cha dishes starts rolling out of the kitchen fast.

Wait staff circulate with trays of delicious (and vegan!) goodies.. if you see something you fancy, you just take it and the waitress makes a note on the bill on your table.

Dumplings, spring rolls, wonton and more! Here are some pictures of the food we enjoyed on the day.

I also ordered some jasmine tea,which was lovely. Other patrons enjoyed beautiful looking juices along with their food.

And to finish off, a waitress offers us some dessert. At this stage we are all feeling rather fall, so we opt for some freshly cut fruit.

All in all, a very satisfying meal. And not bad either, for about $20 per person. Bodhi in the Park is definitely worth checking out if you are looking for a nice yum cha... I absolutely preferred this to the weekend yum cha at Green Gourmet in Newtown. Although the service is lacking in many aspects at Bodhi in the Park, the food is very good.


Bodhi in the Park
Cook and Phillip Park
College St, Sydney
Ph: (02) 9360 2523
Yum cha daily 10am - 4pm

Peace Harmony, Sydney CBD

Although I live close to the city, I rarely venture into the CBD, especially for food. In Sydney we are very fortunate to have an abundance of good places to eat not matter where you are. However, I had heard good things about Peace Harmony and was glad to have the opportunity to try it out when Mr Ladybird and I attended a small family birthday celebration there on Monday evening.

Peace Harmony offers Thai vegetarian cuisine, and is a popular lunch venue for city workers. Peace Harmony have two eateries within stones distance of each other. The restaurant is located on Erskine Street and the Takeaway is on King Street.

We are quickly seated by a friendly staff member. Despite front of house being very quiet (a Monday night, understandable), we are seated in a back corner of the restaurant in a very squashy table that requires us to hold our breath as we slide awkwardly into our seats. I begin to wonder how we will all extract ourselves from the table once our bellies are full! We laugh it off and the birthday girl opens up her gifts.

As there were quite a few of us vegetarians dining, we peruse the menu thoroughly but have trouble deciding what to choose. So we order a double serve of the Mixed Entree ($14) as well as some Soy Chicken Satay Sticks ($6). All the items were delicious and we polish them off in no time. The satay sticks are especially delicious, but my only complaint was that the satay sauce itself was cold.

After our shared entree, we receive our main dishes and we hungrily tuck in. Our mains are enjoyable, and the serving sizes generous.

Red Curry ($12.80)

Crispy Beancurd ($12.80)

Paw Paw Salad ($12.80)

BBQ Soy Chicken ($12.80)

Green Curry ($12.80)

Noodle Chilli Basil ($12.80)

Vego or not, I recommend you give Peace Harmony a go if you are looking for a nice Thai lunch in Sydney city. All dishes at Peace Harmony are MSG free and (get this!) contain no onion or garlic! It's good value, quick and tasty :)


Peace Harmony
Restaurant
14 Erskine St, Sydney
Ph: (02) 9262 2247

Takeaway
29 King St, Sydney
http://www.peaceharmony.com.au/

Ga Ga over Agar Agar

As some of you may have gathered from reading my blog, I am vegetarian. A lacto-ovo vegetarian to be precise (this means I eat eggs and dairy products too). Why? I just choose not to, that's all... As a vegetarian I avoid gelatine because it's animal based. It is derived from the collagen inside animals' skin, bones and cartilage. I don't mean to gross anyone out, but I think it's important to know our food, right(?)

Unfortunately, this means there are a lot of foods that are out of reach for me... jelly lollies (like frogs and snakes) panna cotta, some cheesecakes, and pretty much anything with jelly. I know I could live without these sort of treats (my jeans would probably thank me for it)... but I do like a challenge, and it got me thinking about how to create these sorts of foods without gelatine.

Then, very recently, I heard about Agar Agar - a non-animal alternative to gelatine.. Could it be true?! So I started doing some online research, and here's what I found out...

What is it?
Agar agar is a seaweed based vegetarian/vegan substitute to gelatine. It comes from red seaweed, and is rich in iodine and trace minerals.

What does it look like?
Agar agar is available in the forms of bars, strings and powder. It is white in colour.

What does it taste/feel like?
Some say it is tasteless, while others say it is slightly sweet. There are flavoured varieties available, so obviously they will taste different altogether. From what I've read, it gives a texture a bit stiffer and bouncier than gelatine.

How do you use it?
Agar agar is said to have much stronger setting properties than gelatine. Unlike desserts using gelatine that need time to set in the fridge for several hours, agar agar can set at room temperature in as little as an hour. So it makes sense that agar agar is a popular setting agent in tropical climates of South East Asian countries.

• Powdered agar agar can be substituted for the same quantity of powdered gelatine in a recipe.
• For every teaspoon of agar agar powder, you should substitute a tablespoon of agar agar flakes.
• For a firm jelly you require approximately 2 teaspoons of powder or 2 tablespoons of flakes per 1 pint / 600ml of liquid.
• Generally, agar agar needs to be soaked for between 15-20 minutes before use, and then needs to simmer for a couple of minutes to dissolve.
• Depending on the acidity of the ingredients being used, more agar agar may be required. E.g. dishes including citrus fruits often need a bit more.

Where do you buy it?
Agar agar is available from health food stores and Asian grocery shops. It is inexpensive - I paid $1.60 for a 25 gram packet.

Want to know more?
Check out:
Vegcooking
The Food Coach
Wikipedia

My task
The most important part of all! In the coming days I'll be roadtesting Agar Agar as a gelatine substitute in a recipe, so stayed tuned...  Fingers crossed for a beautiful, jiggly dish without too much compromise on flavour or texture!


But before then, I'm keen to hear from you, my dear readers... Have you ever used/tried Agar Agar? If so, how was it?


Ladybird x

Eggless Dessert Café, Adelaide

From time to time one comes across a café or restaurant that makes you sit up and take notice for one reason or another. I had one of these moments during a recent trip to Adelaide. I was googling restaurant and café options in the city when I came across Eggless. The concept intrigued me, and I knew I'd have to pay it a visit. I was curious about this place because I know there are so many people out there who don't eat eggs out of preference or due to allergy. Eggless also had a great range of vegan desserts - great for people looking for dairy free dessert.

I headed to Eggless Dessert Café late last Sunday night, and luckily got a seat inside straight away (good thing too - it was very cold outside!). A friend and I wanted to sample a few of the eggless creations on offer, so we ordered the tasting plate for two ($18) with four small portions of desserts from the menu.

 Tasting Plate for Two $18

We ate our way from one end of the plate to the other.. It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it! :P We started with the ice cream.

 Sweetcorn Ice Cream

I was doubtful as to how the ice cream would be creamy without eggs or dairy, but it was quite creamy. It was quite light, and was lightly flavoured with the sweet corn and coconut milk/cream (not sure which). Delicious and refreshing on the palate. 

 

 Lychee and Passionfruit Pana Cotta

  This was a wonderfully refreshing and flavoursome dessert. I can imagine it would be wonderful on a hot summer evening. The pana cotta was a bit runny to be a pana cotta but it was gelatine free after all.

 Sticky date and raspberry pudding

I'm not normally one for anything with dates, but this dessert was great. Delicious and moist with a warm pouring sauce.

 Blackforest tiramisu

  So good, and my friend's dessert highlight for the evening. Yum :)

After dessert I asked owner and dessert creator Eelin a couple of questions...

Tell me a little about the concept behind Eggless

My parents were lacto-vegetarians (now vegan) and we've had a lot of trouble looking for desserts they could eat whenever we go out. So we then make our own food and desserts and have been doing that for many many years. I am also very passionate about desserts and understand  how difficult for people with dietary restrictions to find decent desserts so we thought that it would be nice to be able to provide a place for people to have nice desserts.

You have a wide range of desserts on your menu. What's your personal favourite?

 That's a really hard question...I do love lots of desserts but so far the Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie is my favourite...can't really go wrong with the chocolate and peanut butter combination...it's also decadently rich but so lip smacking delicious!! It appeared a couple of times on our menu and it's also very popular with our customers.

So what's the secret? How do you create egg-free desserts without compromising on flavour or quality?

Lots of trial and error really...it's about knowing the ingredients and what they can do. I spend my spare time reading food magazines and recipe books for ideas and tips. I also try to use natural and fresh ingredients in my food to give the best flavours.

Do you have any tips for people wanting to create eggless desserts at home?

The internet is a fantastic source of heaps and heaps of egg free dessert recipes and has lots of good tips too. 

Eggless Dessert Café

162 Goodwood Rd

Goodwood, SA

(02) 8272 0777

http://www.eggless.com.au/