Go go gazpacho!

The first time I ever made gazpacho, I was thoroughly underwhelmed. "This is basically just wet salad," I thought, and decided that in the future I'd prefer to have the salad. But a pit stop in some small city one hot and hungry day when me and my Mum were driving the length of Germany with friends, we ordered the only vegan thing on the menu - gazpacho. It was served in a glass, with ice, and it was salty and garlicky and tomatoey and hit the spot in a way I wasn't expecting.

Back in Sweden, which actually managed to turn out a few weeks of sweltering summer, I wondered if I could recreate the satisfaction. And I became a gazpacho convert. Not because it is the most delicious thing in the world. But because for a summer's day when you're not super hungry and really don't feel like cooking, gazpacho is a fast, cooling, healthy lunch with enough of a flavour punch to keep you satisfied. And it takes less effort and time to prepare than a salad.

I like my gazpacho thick and a bit less ... wet salad-like. That means I shove the following in a blender:
- tinned crushed tomatoes (unless I have fresh)
- a slice of stale bread
- capsicum if I have it (I even tried it with ajvar once, it was awesome)
- a little vinegar
- a splash of olive oil
- 1-2 cloves garlic depending on size
- a little chilli powder or sriracha
- herb seasoned salt and black pepper
- a little water

And you blend it up, adjust to taste, and you are gold. If you want to eat it right away, put some ice cubes in to make it cold. Otherwise you can of course refrigerate or even put it in the freezer for a bit. I topped mine with chopped olives and basil.

Mediterranean bangers and mash

Tonight's dinner:
Home-made chorizos using the recipe from Vegan Brunch (next time I personally would up the garlic a lot, and the spice), accompanied by potatoes mashed with olive oil, roasted root veges and braised red cabbage with coriander seeds.

The last was inspired both by some of the delicious spiced cabbage dishes Mum and I ate in Poland, and by the memory of a Greek pork dish that my Dad used to cook me when I was younger. In the original dish, pork is first fried then cooked in red wine until it reduces, after which crushed coriander seeds are added. I thought it would be yum to do something similar with red cabbage, but living with a teetotaller we don't have wine in the house. I subbed for some vegetable stock, lemon juice and pomegranate molasses. The result came out sweeter than the original, but still hit the spot. I'd love to try it with the wine sometime.

Lemon Chick'n and Mango Fried Rice

This is delicious authentic Asian take-away food exactly like the kind you find anywhere except Asia...
Lemon chicken was always one of my favourites when my family got Chinese take-aways, and this is my Mum's recipe for making it at home. I've used Fry's chicken-style strips here, but you can do it with cubes of tofu too, fried salt and pepper tofu style. It makes a pretty fast, impressive and delicious dinner when paired with fried rice, tonight served with a winter vegetable riff on Isa's Mango Fried Rice (with red cabbage and cauliflower and green capsicum, and sans basil).

Chinese Take-away Lemon Chick'n

For the batter, mix together cornflour, salt, pepper and some baking powder (about 1 tsp per 4 Tbsp cornflour). No-Egg is good if you've got it. Add water, one teaspoonful at a time and stirring after each, until a loose batter is formed. Dip your (defrosted) chick'n strips in the batter and fry on each side in hot oil until puffed and golden, and keep warm until ready to serve. You can also deep fry 'em.

For the lemon sauce, combine the following ingredients in a saucepan:
grated rind and juice of 1-2 large lemons (can sub oranges for some or all)*
1/4 - 1 tsp of vege stock powder (be careful here, as stocks vary in strength. Start with a little).
1 Tbsp cornflour
1-3 Tbsp brown sugar (depending on how tart you want it, and if you've put in orange or not)
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
1/2 - 1 cup water (again, depending on how concentrated you want it)

Stir until the cornflour has dissolved, then heat until clear and thickened (saucy). Serve the fried chick'n strips with the lemon sauce poured over, and chopped spring onions. Serve with plain rice and fried/steamed vegetables, or for a fancier meal, serve with a dish of fried rice and veges like the one linked to above.

* I like to combine the juices of both fruits so I can cut down the added sugar. It still works out very lemony if you don't put in the orange rind. Obviously, if you sub orange for all, you will have Orange Chick'n, not Lemon, but that's ok. That's a take-away thing too.

The strips:

Potatispizza with smoked tofu crumbs

I don't know where potatispizza (potato pizza) comes from, but I will always associate it with a Swedish friend of mine, and vegan mentor, Markus. I have made many variations, with additions of leek or shallots or spinach, but the basic combination of potato, pizza dough, garlic and olive oil is pretty hard to beat. It's sort of garlic bread, pizza and chips in one. I'm not claiming it's healthy, but it's comforting, delicious and pretty easy to make.

To make it, prepare pizza dough using wholemeal wheat flour, or a mixture of rye flour and wheat flour (to make it more Swedish). When risen and all that, roll out thinnish to your desired pizza shape. Put it on a lightly greased oven tray or wherever you usually cook your pizza. Sprinkle with finely chopped garlic, and cover with thinly sliced rounds of potato. They should overlap so that the dough is covered. I usually press down slightly too. Top with extra toppings - spinach, thinly sliced leeks or shallots, herbs (oregano is best), and this week's delicious offering - crumbled smoked tofu which crisped up into crunchy succulent bacon-like morsels. Drizzle with olive oil and top with salt (nice salt if you've got it, table salt if not) and a little pepper. Bung it in the oven at about 250 degrees Celcius and bake until ready (dough is lightly browned, everything else done), about 15 mins maybe?

Pizza served here with lettuce, roasted broccoli and roasted asparagus (in the same oven as the pizza).

Cajun Chickpea cakes with Spicy Tomato Jam

Vegan Dad's Crispy Cajun Chickpea Cakes

Pretty much just followed his recipe, but subbed carrot for capsicum because that's what we had. Subbed cumin for the paprika for the same reason. Also left out the parsley. Ours came out less crispy - possibly an oil temperature/amount issue. But still delicious.

Tomato Jam

Combine the following in a saucepan (measurements are a guide, I usually just dump stuff in according to taste):

500g crushed tomatoes
80mL finely diced onion
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary (or a little less if dried)
30mL sugar (or 1 Tbsp pomegranate molasses)
2/3 tsp salt
pinch black pepper
pinch chilli flakes
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice

Simmer on a low heat, stirring occasionally, for 30-60 mins till reduced and jammy.

Fika for a group

We had a casual flat-warming last Sunday afternoon, with people dropping in and out. With uncertainty over exactly how many would be coming, when, and how hungry they would be, figuring out what to prepare was initially a bit daunting. Also, we still had a lot of sorting out to do to get the place ready for visitors, so I didn't want to spend all day in the kitchen. In the end, the spread was easy, cheap and delicious:

My never-fail wholegrain bread, freshly baked
The potato and spinach bake from Vegan Brunch
Home-made hummus
Store-bought ajvar
Home-made tapanade (recipe below)Quinoa tabbouleh with roasted eggplant and pomegranate molasses dressing (recipe below)
Afghans
Watermelon mocktail (recipe below)
As well as ubiquitous chips and fizz

Plenty to go round, plenty left over (and we weren't complaining), good at any temperature.

Green Olive Tapande

Basically you need green olives (with or without pimento stuffing), capers, and garlic. Blend it all up in a blender with a little olive oil and a little water until a chunky dip forms. I added parsley, a little nutritional yeast, a little lemon juice and a little sriracha chilli sauce. Tapande is pretty much ground up olives with add-ins, so start with olives and test your way forwards.

A little goes a long way, so don't feel like you have to make a whole lot. Excellent on crackers, toast, or fresh bread. For some reason right now I want to dip celery sticks in it, but that could be just me. (Gluten-free)

Quinoa Tabbouleh with Roasted Eggplant and Pomegranate Molasses Dressing

Um, this one isn't really a 'recipe' either. Basically, roast your eggplant according to how you usually do it, and let it cool. Chop it into little bits, along with finely chopped cucumber, tomato, and plenty of chopped parsley, and add everything to cooked quinoa. Dress with olive oil, a little minced garlic, a little pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Serve cold or room temperature.
(Gluten-free)

Watermelon and Mint Mocktail

Blend de-seeded watermelon flesh till liquid (pulpy ok). Mix with a decent amount of lime juice, some freshly squeezed orange juice if you want it sweeter, and some chopped mint leaves. Add sparkling water or ice if desired. Serve cold.

Wilted Spinach and Chick Peas

This is quintessential Mum's cooking - easy, simple, healthy, quick, and tasty.

It makes an excellent lunch paired with wholemeal cous cous or pasta. Rice or bulgur or polenta or any of that would probably be excellent too. Roast potatoes? A fresh salad? It's really flexible, and works well as a flavourful and nutritious side-dish as well.

Basically, fry diced onion and plenty of finely sliced garlic in olive oil until softened. I chucked some sliced celery in there too, because upping the vege count never hurts and I had celery that needed eating. Carrots would probably be awesome as well.

Then add a good amount of cumin, and some ground coriander seed, paprika and chilli (powder, flakes, or sauce - if you've got fresh chillies then slice 'em fine and chuck 'em in with the onions instead). Add some chopped nuts (not heaps, just enough for some crunch), and continue frying until browned.

Add cooked chick peas and some chopped spinach (leaves direct from freezer ok). Stir together until spinach wilts. Squeeze lemon juice over generously and add salt (or extra chilli sauce or oil) to taste. Serve it hot or cold or at room temperature.