Brunch in the Easter sun with family friends. It was so hot we had to break out the sunblock!

We had a feast of tofu and bean patties (a recipe by the DomPost's Ruth Pretty), polenta crostini topped with olive and sundried tomato relish, and home-made palmiers! Our hosts completed this with freshly squeezed orange juice, coffee, roasted tomatoes, sliced avocado, bread and dukkah, and a delicious sauterne wine that was like drinking sunlight.

Me and J rounded the day off rockhopping down in Owhiro Bay and a stroll through Island Bay, stopping at the Empire for gelato, one lemon, one melon. The best thing really about having someone you regularly swap germs with is that you can swap ice creams and avoid the whole dilemma of deciding. Though we do take care that our individual flavour choices are always anagrams of the other's. Got home in time to find vegan Nasi Goreng take-aways waiting for us in a steaming heap of spicy deliciousness.

All in all, a wonderful day.

Some recipes...

TOFU & BEAN PATTIES

Ingredients

- half a smallish pumpkin, cut into 1cm cubes and roasted till soft (about 10 mins)
- 1 big onion, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- can of chickpeas, mashed (300g cooked)
- can of kidney beans (300g cooked)
- 200g firm tofu, 1cm cubes
- some cooked brown rice (medium grain) (about 2/3 cup uncooked)
- some corn kernels, fresh or frozen
- 1/2 cup Thai sweet chilli sauce
- 2 Tbsp chopped coriander leaves
- 2 Tbsp chopped parsley
- 2/3 cup rice flour
- salt and pepper

Method

Fry onion for a few minutes till soft, then add garlic and fry another minute. Put in a mixing bowl, and add all the rest of the stuff. Mix until able to form patties, adjusting flour amount as necessary. Fry patties in oil on medium high.

Serve with relish or tahini dressing (tahini mixed with some lemon juice, crushed garlic, olive oil and water).

(makes about 15 decent-sized patties)


POLENTA CROSTINI

Basically, fry rounds of polenta till crispy. This can take some time. I set my polenta in greased muffin tins, so the rounds were all ready to go.


PALMIERS

Get some vegan puff pastry. Get some vegan white sugar. Sprinkle some on a surface. Put the (defrosted) pastry on top. Sprinkle sugar on top of pastry too, going for an even layer. Use about 1/3 cup for the top and 1/2 a cup for the bottom. Roll the pastry out thinner, pressing in the sugar as you do so. Fold the left and right hand sides in until they meet at the middle. Repeat, then fold over like closing a book. Cut log into slices and arrange on baking paper on a baking tray. Bake at 230 degrees until caramelised on bottom (or top, if your oven is crazy like ours) - about 6-10 mins, then flip and cook the other side. Keep an eye on them. Likewise when they're out of the oven, these things disappear at lightning speed!