Spaghetti and "Meatballs"

Well, I came across a FB post the other day/week/month where someone had tested out a Vegan Meatballs recipe and really enjoyed it.  I kinda thought... really?? Because meatballs would never have been on my menu even during my meat-eating years, and I kinda didn't see the appeal... 

Well then a week or so later the same post popped up again, and this time I followed the link and had a quick flick over the recipe, just out of curiosity, and I guess that curiosity stuck!  So!  Today was the day to give it a try, and here's my interpretation of an old school classic :)

Meatballs:

Preheat oven to 220C and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Gather together:

1 cup raw Almonds, ground to a meal

1 cup (ish, maybe slightly more) cooked Brown Rice

1 tin Red Kidney Beans, mashed

1 clove of Garlic, crushed

1 handfull each of Chives, Oregano and Thyme, fresh form the garden, finely chopped

1 tsp ground Cumin

1 tsp Sweet Paprika

1/2 tsp Turmeric

1 Carrot, grated

Place all ingredients into a mixing bowl and combine thoroughly.

Roll into approximately 1 inch balls and place on the baking tray, I got 23 balls.

(Optional: I gave mine a once over with a spray rice bran oil, to help them crisp up nicely.)

Bake balls in hot oven approximately 25 minutes.

Sauce:

I wanted to keep this meal fairly simple and classic, so avoided my usual temptation of "how many veges can I cram in here"...

In a saucepan saute:

3/4 cup Rose

4 cloves of Garlic

1 tsp Vege Stock Powder

1 tsp Sweet Paprika

1/2 tsp Turmeric

3 Bay Leaves

2 twists of the Pepper grinder (you could add more or add later to your tastes)

Afer a few minutes simmering, add:

1 bottle of Passatta

1kg fresh diced (or 800g tinned) Tomatoes

Another good handfull each of fresh herbs, Chives, Oregano and Thyme

Bring to the boil and then let simmer, stirring occasionally, while it reduces.

Cook up your spaghetti according to the packet instructions, preferably a wholemeal variety.

Optional garnish:  Cashew Parmesan

1 cup of raw Cashews

1 tbsp Nutritional Yeast

1 tsp Herbamere salt

Ground together into a fine powder (I use my Vitamix dry jug for this).

Served with a big green leafy salad, topped with lemon juice and balsamic glaze!!

Muesli Bars

These are another of our popular snack foods around here, and full of goodness... antioxidant packed and filling because of the natural oils and protein in all of the nuts and seeds, sweeeeet from the dried fruit and agave :)

Into a good sized mixing bowl place:
2 cups Oats;
1 cup Almonds, partially processed in blender;
1/2 cup Spelt Flour;
1/3 cup Sunflower Seeds;
1/3 cup Pepitas;
1/3 cup Coconut, shredded or dessicated;
1 tbsp Sesame Seeds;
1 tbsp Linseeds;
1 tbsp Linseed Meal;
1 tbsp Chia Seeds;
1/2 cup Currants;
1/2 cup Goji Berries, partially processed in blender;
1/2 cup Dried Apricots, finely chopped;
1 tsp ground Cinnamon;
1/2 tsp ground Cloves;

Into a small saucepan place:
1/2 cup Coconut Oil;
1 tbsp Tahini;
2 tbsp Black Strap Molases;
4 tbsp Agave;
Gently heat these 'wet' ingredients, just enough to melt / combine.

Mix the dry ingredients together and make a well in the centre;
Add your melted wet mixture;

Stir well to combine into a thick sticky muesli mixture;

Line a rectangular cake or baking tray with baking paper, mine is the perfect size at 22x32 cms;
Tip muesli mixture into tray and press out evenly;

Place a second piece of baking paper over the top and use a second pan the same size to push down on top, compressing the mixture firmly together (you could also use a cylindrical glass or rolling pin to do this);

Refrigerate for at least 6 hours to allow the wet ingredients to set;

Remove from fridge and lift set slice out of the tray with the baking paper;
Cut into pieces using a sharp bladed knife;
(Should make around 24 individual Muesli Bars);

Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Party Sausage Rolls!!

The first thing I need to do in this recipe is to credit the blog that I got the original recipe from!!  So thanks to retromummy for the Vegetarian (but not Vegan!) recipe :)

I have made these Sausage Rolls for several Birthday Parties and social gatherings, and they always get rave reviews :)  So, for all of you who have enjoyed them so much... here's my recipe!

1 brown onion;
1 bunch fresh parsley;
150g rolled Oats;
150g Almonds;
350g packet of organic Tofu;
2 Tbsp Soy sauce;
3 Tbsp Chia Seeds &/or Linseeds, soaked in 9 Tbsp water;
4 Sheets Vegan Puff Pastry.

With a food processor:
Place Onion and Parsley into food processor and process until finely chopped, scrape down sides;
Add Almonds and Oats, again process until finely ground and mixed with the onion / herb mix;
Add Tofu and Soy Sauce and again process to combine.
Chia Seeds / Linseeds should be manually stirred into the mix.

With a blender:
Process Almonds, Oats, Onion & Parsley, and Tofu in individual batches in the blender, and scrape into a large mixing bowl;
Combine all ingredients into the mixing bowl and work it into an even mixture;
Lay out pastry and cut in half lengthways;
Make a 'sausage' of our Vegan filling lengthways along each half of pastry, and roll it up;
These long sausage rolls can be cut into whatever length you desire, but for parties I usually cut each length into 6 segments;
Bake according to the directions for your pastry.  Mine are usually around 20 minutes at 220 degrees Celcius.

Serve with tomato sauce for dipping :)

Solti's Birthday Choc~Almond~Goji Cake :)

It was my littlest one's Second Birthday at the start of July... this is the recipe for the cake that I made him!  I made a single batch recipe on his actual birthday, just dusted with icing sugar, and then made the mega-cake for his party!

CAKE:

1 1/2 cups Wholemeal Spelt Flour
1 cup Almonds, ground
3/4 cup Coconut Palm Sugar
1/2 cup dried Goji berries, ground
1 tbsp Raw Cacao Powder
3 tsp Baking Powder
1 cup rice / soy / nut milk
1 tbsp Chia Seeds, soaked in 3Tbsp water
Seeds of 1/2 Vanilla Bean, or 1 tsp of extract
Coconut oil for greasing tin.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius.
Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Make a well in the centre and add wet ingredients.
Mix until well combined.
Grease cake tin with Coconut Oil.
Pour batter into tin.
Bake for around 25 minutes, until cooked through.


Chocolate Mud 'GANASH':

100g of Vegan Dark Chocolate
2 tbsp Coconut Oil
1 1/2 cups Cashew Nuts
1 tbsp Avage Syrup

Gently melt Chocolate and Coconut Oil over low heat.
Puree Cashews and Agave in high power blender to form a thick paste.
Add melted Chocolate and Coconut Oil to blender and ... blend to mix well :)
Work as quickly as you can to spread the mixture while still quite warm.

**This is not a refined recipe, texturally I would try a couple of things differently next time, like soak the cashews first and maybe add a little (or more) water to the mix to increase spreadability.  But damn it tasted good ;-) Ha ha **