- Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Don't worry people, the maple syrup tofu recipe is coming!!!
Anyway, welcome to my new favourite dinner. It's so good that Keisha stole half of one of my tofu sausages while I was getting a drink and then sat next to me giving me that look that only dogs can do! It is also so good that I'd already started eating it before I remembered to take a picture.
So, we've got steamed broccoli, raw carrot with hummus, fried mushrooms, tofu sausages and awesome Maori potatoes that The Chef got me from work boiled and then lightly tossed in some olive oil and salt. I want it now!
Other cool stuff coming out of my kitchen was this wicked lasagne. The Chef is on a no gluten, no dairy, no raw fruit or veggies diet for a month so instead of pasta we baked large slices of kumara and layered it with slices of courgette and a 'mince' mixture made from Tonzu tofu mince, black beans, a tin of tomatoes, onion, carrot and mushrooms. All topped off with a white/cheesy sauce and a sprinkling of pumpkin seeds then chucked in the oven.
We ate the leftover kumara slices with maple syrup while waiting for the lasagne to cook!!
It kind of fell apart when we served it but it still tasted really good. Once it had cooled though it held together quite well and tasted even better for my lunch the next day.
As usual there has been plenty of action going on round here (other than in my kitchen of course). On Saturday I had a mountain bike race out at Riverhead...notorious for being a mudbath when it's been wet. So naturally it was raining that morning! Who could expect anything less?!
It took me an hour to clean the bike once I got home and another half an hour to get the clay off the soles of my bike shoes. Seriously.
I was starving after all that so whipped up a toasted sandwich with hummus, spinach, grated carrot, tofu sausages and melty Cheezly vegan cheese. Lightly toast the bread, chuck in all your fillings and then brown over the frying pan on each side.
Hit the spot perfectly.
Oh yeah, and I also scored a mammoth bag of feijoas off a mate's tree. Awesome!
Were any of your feijoas shaped like kiwis?!
ReplyDeleteThat dinner does look good, I want some maori potatoes! And your sandwich looks like a perfect post-mudbath antidote.
I'm a little bit in love with your first dish too - I love "snack plate" type meals, with bits and pieces of different things. Though must admit, the kumara lasagne looks rather splendiferous too.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Maple tofuuuuuuuuuuuu :D
Hahaha! No kiwi-shaped feijoas in this bag unfortunately. Ah, that still cracks me up that people would bid on that.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, yeah Maori potatoes are awesome. This particular one is called a tutaekuri but there are several other kinds. Anywhere I've seen them though they just call them all Maori potatoes so it's a bit confusing.
Are the Maori potatoes different types of kumara/sweet potato? I'm confused! How have I never heard of them being called this before? Is this a new 'ethnic food' trend or something that has only happened since I left NZ?
ReplyDeleteHi Niki. I hadn't heard of Maori potatoes until we were at a local market and my boyfriend recommended I try some. They're not a kind of kumara/sweet potato but several different varieties of potato that I'm guessing are native to New Zealand hence the "Maori" part. There's more info here about them here and here. You can't find them in your average supermarket here, only the markets and healthfood stores. Also, they have certain seasons...this is the main season apparently.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of kumera lasagne, such a creative way of looking at it.
ReplyDeleteAnd I saw feijoas here recently and wondered if I should try some, what are they like?
Mandee you've got to try feijoas. I can't think of how to describe them but when I brought home the big back my flatmate and his mates were commenting on how feijoas were the food of the gods! I still find it interesting that so many people (other than us kiwis) have never even heard of the feijoa let alone tried one. They're not even native to New Zealand (but they clearly love our climate). I think they're originally from South America somewhere.
ReplyDelete