Holy Guacamole!

"I don't know what to eat today" I hear you say.  Well, stress no longer because this guacamole is not only delicious and nutritious, but can pretty much be eaten at any time of day.  Win.  Oh and it is super easy to make.  Double win.  This recipe makes enough for a decent amount of guacamole.  How big is one serving of guacamole? I don't know! Let's just go with this was enough for 4 people to have for dinner with nachos. 

Ingredients:

2 ripe avocados

60ml of fresh lime/lemon juice

2 tomatoes, de-seeded and finely chopped

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 red chilli, finely chopped (if you leave the seeds in or not is up to you - how spicy do you like your guac?)

5 tbsp fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves, finely chopped

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp paprika

1 pinch cayenne pepper

1 pinch salt

1.  Mash all the ingredients together in a bowl with a fork.

2.  Season to taste.

3.  That's it.

Serve this up with fresh corn chips, nachos, with crudités, some freshly baked bread...whatever you like really! Just make sure you leave some coriander (cilantro) leaves to sprinkle on top before you serve it.

Enjoy!

Yummy & Healthy Vegan Summer Rolls with Two Dips

This is one of my absolutely favourite meals! I recently came up with a new sauce recipe, and got the tofu marination down pat, so had to share it with all you lovely people.

By the way, you have to excuse the incredibly small amount of peanut dipping sauce in the pictures...my family got hold of it before I got a chance to take photos.

So, this is enough to make about 8 rolls, but obviously feel free to play around with the amounts of veggies and noodles depending on your taste.

Ingredients:

Rolls

1 block extra firm tofu, drained (wrap in a paper towel for about 30 minutes to remove any extra moisture)

60ml soy sauce or mushroom soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp chilli flakes

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Olive oil for the pan

1 package cooked glass noodles (or rice noodles)

8 - 10 lettuce leaves (or kale leaves)

10 - 12 leaves of thai basil and/or coriander

1/2 cucumber 

1 carrot

1 red pepper

1 avocado

Rice paper

Peanut Sauce

2 minced garlic cloves

2 tbsp maple syrup

3 - 4 tbsp fresh lime juice

3 - 4 tbsp sriracha sauce

120ml hoisin sauce

Chilli powder, to taste

120g peanut butter

100ml water

Soy Sauce with a Twist

100ml soy sauce

100ml hoisin sauce

2 tbsp sriracha sauce

1 tsp garlic powder

Now, I know that is a mighty long list of ingredients! If you're making these just for yourself I'd recommend chopping up all your ingredients and making 2 or 3 of these depending on your hunger levels, then making the rest the next day.  Alternatively, if you're making these for lots of people just double the amount. Everyone's happy.

1.  To make the tofu, cut the drained tofy into thin slices and then pat dry with paper towels and leave for 30 minutes.  

2.  In a bowl, mix together the soy sauce, salt, sugar, sugar, chilli flakes, garlic powder, and a drizzle of olive oil.  Pop in the tofu and let is marinate for between 30 minutes and 1 hour.

3.  In a lightly oiled pan, fry the tofu until it is golden brown and slightly crispy from the outside.  Then set aside and let it cool for about 10 minutes.

4.  Cut all your veggies into thin strips.

5.  Dip your rice paper sheets into warm water (or just hold them under the tap) for a few seconds so that they become soft and pliable, then arrange your fillings in the middle.  Do this one at a time!  I like to put the lettuce leaf on the outside, pop in my carrot, cucumber, red pepper, thai basil and noodles, then roll it once so that those ingredients are covered.  Then I put 2 slices of tofu and some avocado on the rice paper and roll the rest up.  Make these as tight as possible, and don't worry if it takes a few tries for you to get them right!

6.  For the peanut sauce - blend together all the ingredients and then season to taste.  I like mine a bit spicier and so put in more chilli and sriracha sauce. Garnish with some crushed peanuts to serve.

7.  For the soy sauce with a twist - you guessed it, mix together all ingredients! Voila.

Deeeelicious!

'Ello Guvna, London Part II

All tuckered out after one day in the big smoke, day 2 called for rest and relaxation. Not. In the morning we visited the Borough Markets, which are probably my favourite markets anywhere in the world.  Big call, I know.  After spending an eternity lusting over all the deliciousness that can be found there, I finally settled on having a juice, some fudge, buying a loaf of bread, AND some olives, all whilst Chewy had a cider.  Very, very worth every penny spent!

Next, we scooted across the Tower Bridge and past the Tower, on our way to catch up with an old school friend of mine who I hadn't seen in 10 years.  However, before this walk, and after a lot of food, a big stretch out in the sunshine had to happen first!

How great is catching up with old school friends? After a spot of vegan lunch in Soho, we went to this pub for a drink, and even managed to nab a table outside.  I'm not sure why, but we decided to change venues for drink number 2, and went to the Cafe Boheme down the road, and also in Soho, where many an Aperol Spritz was consumed and a good time was had by one and all!

 

Several hours later, Chewy and I were no longer living in our completely awful hostel (never stay at Smart Hyde Park Inn please), and were staying with our 'new found' friends.  And their gorgeous cats - Derek and Hansel. Donning his stylish new onesie, Chewy and Derek curled up and barely left me any room in the bed.  And this was before Hansel jumped in too.
 

 

Nishta Pure Vegetarian Restaurant, Dubrovnik

This absolute gem of a restaurant is one of my favourites.  One of my friends stumbled upon it last year whilst roaming the streets of Dubrovnik and took me there, and this year I just had to go back.  It was amazing!

Nishta is small and compact, so either book in advance or turn up at a bit of a random time, or just be prepared to wait for a bit really.  It is definitely worth it though.  Their menu clearly distinguishes what is vegan (most things are), vegetarian, raw, and gluten free.  All this makes ordering an absolute breeze.  

 

Home-made iced tea.  In what is one of the cutest bottles going around.  Loved it!

 

I opted for a 'small' (read: enormous) salad bowl, and chose from a plethora of fresh ingredients and pre-made salads.   It was vegan and gluten free.  Because we were feeling quite hungry, we decided to share the starter pictured below.  Called 'Simplicity' this beautiful dish is raw zucchini pasta accompanied with three different raw sauces: sundried tomato-date-olive oil sauce, pesto with fresh herbs and sunflower seeds, and a creamy cashew nuts sauce.  It's vegan, gluten free and raw.  

 

Chewy decided to go for the veggie burger, which was a barley-lentil-bean burger with smoked seitan, vegetables, and sweet potato sticks, and is also served with a coleslaw salad and nishta-made ketchup.  It is fully vegan.

 

Nishta can be found in the old town of Dubrovnik, and I highly highly recommend going there even if you're not a vego yourself.  Last year we went with a group of boys, and all of them thought it was delicious.  Definitely worth a trip to Dubrovnik in my opinion!

Vegetarian Goodness in Istanbul

Someone told me that it would be difficult to be vegetarian in Turkey.  They lied.  The vegetarian and vegan fare in Istanbul was stellar, I was constantly spoilt for choice with multitudes of vegetarian choices.  And this applied to Turkey in general.  One of my favourites was Galata Kitchen in the Galata area of Istanbul (surprise surprise), which I loved so much that we went back several times just to try every dish they offered.  I raved about the falafels at Kikero Falafel in a previous post, so I won't repeat myself, but basically every local taverna/restaurant/cafe will provide you with heaps of vegetarian and vegan options (see photos below).  Without further ado, here are some favourites.

Falafels & Street Musicians in Istanbul

I just have to tell you about the most amazing falafels I have ever tasted.  A little, unassuming shop in Istanbul called Kikero Falafel was the place.  It is in the Galata area of Istanbul, which in itself is just a delight to stroll around as it is the more artsy side of town.  We went there for lunch the first time we were in Istanbul, thanks to a lucky find on Happy Cow, my favourite vegetarian/vegan restaurant finder, and loved it so much that the first thing we did after we came back to Istanbul today was go there.

So we sat on the tiny grassed area outside, and our delicious falafel sandwiches were eyed up by one pretty kitty that came and sat next to us. 

After our amazingly delicious lunch we went for a stroll around the area, and came across these marvellous musicians doing their thang on the street for all to hear.  Such a beautiful day!