Dal.

I love Indian food, but it often gives me heartburn, though I find that with a lot of tomatoey dishes. This is my tomato-free Dal. It is so good, yes, I know I am biased, but it truly is! (: And I promise it tastes a LOT better than it looks ;)

Ingredients: 

• 400g tin lentils drained and rinsed
• 400mL coconut milk, plus extra IF required
• 1 tsp Garam Masala, cumin, ground coriander seeds
• 1 brown onion, diced
• 3 cloves/tsp crushed garlic
• 1/2 tsp minced ginger
• 1/4-1/2 tsp salt
• Sugar as needed if too salty
• Splash of Braggs (optional, but worth it)
• 1 Tbsp Coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  
• (I've given measurements, but really all the spices are to taste.)

Method: 

1. Melt coconut oil in a saucepan. 
2. Add diced onion and sauté gently. 
3. Add garlic, ginger and all other spices and allow them to ft off a little. 
4. Add lentils and coconut milk. Allow to simmer until thick, about 30-40 minutes. If it gets too thick thin out with a little more coconut milk. 
5. Serve with steamed rice, roti and veggies, or as part of a banquet. 
6. Enjoy (:

Strawberry Sauce

At work we have a rule that on your birthday you have to bring in the cake. I kinda think that's a bit mean, but being vegan I find it easier to cater for myself anyway. Plus it gives others a chance to see that vegan food isn't just "rabbit food". My go to special occasion cake is "my" (not my recipe) Chocolate Mousse Cheezecake  I made it yesterday for my birthday today. It's great with berries on top and that was my plan today, but when I looked at my punnet this morning they were a bit squashed and bruised. I decided I couldn't possibly serve them like that so I whipped a batch of strawberry sauce instead.

Ingredients:

• 1 punnet of strawberries (or other berries or soft fruit, thinking mango next time) 
• Agave nectar or white/raw sugar to taste A little water
• Corn flour 

Method: 

1. In a saucepan squish fruit with a masher or fork and add a little water. Heat up on medium heat slightly. 
2. Transfer to blender, food processor or use a stick blender to liquify the fruit. 
3. Transfer to a metal sieve and strain to remove any seeds or pulp. 
4. Put back in saucepan and heat gently, add nectar or sugar to taste. 
5. You can leave it as a runny syrup or mix up a little cornflour or arrowroot (about a tablespoon) with some some water and add to the mix. Heat gently until it has thickened. 
6. You can now serve it hot/warm or allow it to cool. 
7. Store in the fridge, but it will go quite thick, so you will have to let it come back to room temperature if you store it in a thin mouthed bottle like I have, or just scoop it out with a spoon if in something wider. 

I plan on making this next time I make scones too.

Enjoy! (:

Hummus

I have never really been a hummus fan and I realised on Monday, after having some totes amazeballs hummus, that's because I'd only ever had shitty store bought stuff. The hummus I had on Monday came from a gourmet deli (Alps and Amici I think, for those in Launceston) and it was just so good that I wanted to eat the lot! I was asked if I had ever made it. I hadn't because I didn't think I'd like it, but upon realising I had all the ingredients in my pantry I figured why not?!

So here is my hummus recipe. I hope you like it :) It may not be quite as good as Alps and Amici, but I think it is pretty damn good! ;)

Ingredients:

• One can of chickpeas drained and rinsed
• Juice of 1/2-1 lemon
• Salt to taste, about 1/4-1/2 a teaspoon
• A couple of flags of olive oil
• Shake of paprika (optional)
• 1 tablespoon of tahini
• 1-2 small cloves of garlic

Method:

1. Put garlic, chickpeas, juice of half a lemon, one good glug of oil, tahini, salt and paprika in bowl of food processor, whizz until everything sticks to the side of the bowl. 
2. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Whizz again to get it smooth. Keep scraping and whizzing as required. 
3. Add extra oil, lemon juice, salt or even garlic as required or to taste. 
4. Once you have the desired flavours and consistency pop the mix in a jar or other air-tight container, drizzle with a little extra olive oil and a dash more paprika. 
5. Store in the fridge or just serve and eat it straight away. I love it on bread rolls! :)