Tofu in Mum's kitchen

His teeth tried to tell him something, but he never listened to them. A man could go mad, listening to his teeth.
- Making Money by Terry Pratchett

Most thursday nights are 'dinner at the parents' nights. Some previous dinners can be found here and here. Mum is always looking for different dishes to use tofu in and one night she made us all Italian Tofu Meatballs.


They totally rocked so I guess I'll have to give the recipe a go myself now!

Another tofu dish she made was this...a baked tortilla stack. I think it's from one of the Simon and Alison Holst Meals Without Meat cookbooks. The tofu is crumbled up into little pieces and if you didn't know that it had tofu in it you could be fooled.


Light, spicy and delicious. Wonder what she will whip up for us next...

The sun through the clouds

One of the major problems encountered in time travel is not that of accidentally becoming your own father or mother. There is no problem involved in becoming your own father or mother that a broadminded and well adjusted family can't cope with. There is also no problem about changing the course of history - the course of history does not change because it all fits together like a jigsaw. All the important changes have happened before the things they were supposed to change and it all sorts itself out in the end.
- The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams

A few things that help to brighten up bad days...

Scoring free bittersweet Whittakers chocolate from the boys at the coffee shop across the road from work. They definitely know how to brighten a bad day.


Running especially as it becomes lighter in the mornings and I can run round the local parks instead of having to stick to the streets. It's even better when I have new running shoes (and having them contain some of my favourite colours). This morning it was light enough not long after 6am to run through the bush tracks in the Auckland Domain. Yay!


Finding Vanilla Tofutti Cuties at the Safe store on K'Rd. This is the kind of thing I never thought we'd get here. I seriously could not believe how awesome these tasted. Hopefully we will get a few more flavours.


Being out in the forest even on drizzly, wet days. Clears your head and frees your mind. My favourite thing to do out at the forest is orienteering...can't wait for the events this weekend.



My sweet flatmate's bliss balls. She made them super peanut buttery! What's not to love?!


Today will be a good day ☺

Rummaging around

A night bird trilled. The world was so big, and the night sky was so full of glimmering light!
- Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams

If I haven't thought in advance (which is pretty much all the time...and if I have planned in advance I'll have forgotten what I planned), I never know what I'm going to have for dinner until I actually get into the kitchen and have a rummage around for what I've got and what I feel up to doing. This particular dinner was a case of opening the pantry and going, umm, what shall I eat tonight? I saw a can of creamed corn and thought, 'hmmm, corn fritters sound good.' But I thought I'd add some chickpeas to the mix for some protein (and 'cause chickpeas are delicious).


I served the fritters with mango chutney, sliced capsicum and avocado, steamed broccoli with tahini ('cause I can never be bothered making a proper sauce), hummus and the last raw flaxseed cracker from a pack I bought at Huckleberry Farms out of curiosity. Quick and delicious.

In case you were interested, here's a really rough recipe for the fritters. Bear in mind I didn't actually measure anything but it's pretty forgiving so you can pretty much do what ever you like.

Corn and Chickpea Fritters

half a can of chickpeas (drained)
half a can of creamed corn
½ tsp baking powder
approx ¹⁄₈ cup polenta
approx ³⁄₈ cup wholemeal flour
1 Tbsp yeast flakes
1 Tbsp sweet chilli sauce
½ Tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 1 Tbsp rice milk
a sprinkling of chilli and lime seasoning

Mash the chickpeas up with a fork then mix in the rest of the ingredients (super easy!). Heat up your fry pan and spoon heaped tablespoons of the mixture into the pan once it's heated. Flatten slightly. Cook on both sides until golden brown (or just brown...I put the golden part in there 'cause it sounded fancy!). Makes enough for 2 people (and it keeps in the fridge for a couple of days as well...it might keep longer but my mixture never lasts that long!).

Dining in the golden age

He'll never get past them crawling, especially crawling down stairs. He has a faint recollection that he tried crawling down some stairs in the recent past, but remembers only that it was definitely a mistake.
- Z Is For... from Rite by Tad Williams

A new vegan restaurant, Golden Age, opened in Auckland a few weeks ago which is a pretty big deal because it's actually the first purely vegan restaurant to open in New Zealand. Naturally as soon as I heard about it (thanks Auckland Vegan for the heads up) I had to go check it out and my friend E decided to join me. We ordered heaps 'cause, well, it was all terribly exciting (for me anyway). I've never been to a restaurant or cafe where I can have absolutely anything on offer.

First up E picked the Sichuan Hot and Sour Soup.


I actually only had a spoonful of this 'cause I'm not a big fan of this kind of soup but I can vouch for the fact it was hot...in more ways than one! But E seemed to enjoy it and was determined to polish off the whole bowl (which was bigger than it first appeared).

Next we had two main courses between us with rice (not pictured 'cause you all know what a plate of rice looks like!). E picked the Combination Tofu.


Your standard fare...but good all the same especially the veges for some reason, maybe because they weren't overcooked and still had a little bit of crunch to them.

I um-ed and ah-ed for ages but eventually picked the Lemon Veggie Chicken.


This was SO delicious...I was quite taken by surprise really. How do you describe it? Hmmm...so good that it HAD to be bad for you! No idea if it tasted anything like chicken but I do know I will order it again.

Of course dessert was a requirement so we got an almond cookie (I'm just guessing the flavour here but that's what it tasted like).


Crunchy and not too sweet. Very delicious.

Lastly we had to get a Red Bean Pancake to share...naturally.


I adored this which wasn't really surprising as ever since I had my first one a couple of months back I've fallen in love although it could have done with a little bit more red bean mixture inside. Now I've just got to work out how to make them myself!

Crunch crunch?

'The images jump out of the creative space into the created space. The figures are shaken out of the magician's sleeve and appear out of thin air bursting with life. The fantasies are beautiful in appearance, but all except one have lost their minds. Only a lonesome Joker sees through the delusion.'
- The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder

I'd never had a protein bar before but I saw these at the health food store and thought I'd try some since none of the usual ones I get in race packs and that I've seen people have are vegan.

Peanut Butter Crunch

I don't know what I expected it to be like but it tasted very strongly of peanut butter...kind of like eating it straight out of the jar mixed with sugar. It also felt like it was sticking to the roof of my mouth which wasn't that pleasant (yes, I was drinking plenty of water too). I think I'd rather just eat the peanut butter (natural peanut butter though 'cause this tastes a bit more processed). I will admit that it took the shakiness out of my legs after the race but hey, I suspect anything would have considering I hadn't eaten for about 4 hours and I'd just run solid for 3. Perhaps I should have had some out there on the course to see what it was like but my stomach is not big on eating whilst racing.

Chocolate Brownie

This flavour was much better for me. This time I tried it before heading out for a run after work. It wasn't too sweet and had a bit of crunch to it and more than held me over till I got around to making dinner (actually, I wasn't hungry at all when I got back which was good as I didn't end up eating until about 8:30pm). I wonder if it feels left out being the only one without Crunch in its name...?!

Berry Almond Crunch

Again I had this bar before heading out for a run after work that evening. I didn't have high expectations of it but it turned out to be pretty good...at least for the first half until it got a bit sweet. The berry taste wasn't too sickly and the almonds gave it a nice crunch and subtle nutty taste. It definitely held me over until dinner which was pretty late and it didn't sit in my stomach the way some bars do while I run but I still preferred the Chocolate Brownie flavour.

Almond Crunch

Maybe it was because I didn't drink enough water but I found this bar a little hard to stomach. It was quite sticky like the peanut butter flavour and had a fairly strong taste of almond essence. Now I love almonds and I adore almond butter but I'm not a fan of almond essence so I was kind of disappointed. I tried this bar midway through biking out at the Woodhill Bike Park and it held me over till I got home again but I was starving not long after walking in the door.


It was so gorgeous out at the bike park I had to include this picture...loving spring!

Crumbly birds of brightness

It was the most commonplace question in the world. It was the question which, sooner or later, every child in the kingdom asks his governess or his schoolmaster or his parent. Yet the learned members of the York society did not at all like hearing it asked and the reason was this: they were no more able to answer it than any one else.
- Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

I've posted about The Blue Bird several times before but it always deserves more mention as it is probably our flat's favourite place to eat out.When you walk in there is a cabinet filled with food (all helpfully labelled). It's always a surprise to see what they have (my flatmates and I have our favourite items that we're always on the lookout for and will bring back for each other if we see them).


This is a Potato and Pea Rissole with chutney and salad. Pretty simple but real good.

I think this is a Pumpkin and Red Lentil Pie topped with strips of raw carrot and beetroot.


Whatever it was, it tasted damn good. I really like their pastry. We actually have a couple of Sri Chinmoy recipe books sitting around at the flat and I keep meaning to pull them out and cook up a storm but I've been a bit lazy. I ought to change this!

You can also order off their bowl menu...pick a size (small, medium, large...anything over a small is actually pretty large) a topping and then pick a base from brown rice, baked or mashed potato or baked kumara. It's served with a slice of grain bread and olivani (you have to ask for it instead of butter) on the side.


This is their African Beans on kumara. It would be better with a few veges but it's pretty good (and an awesome protein powerhouse).

They've recently started serving what they call superfood smoothies.


This is the Maca Cacao smoothie in all its chocolaty goodness. Can't remember what was in it but it was delicious and super filling.

Sometimes I get takeaways. This may just look like a container of mixed vegetables but let me tell you, this is their Roast Vegetable Tart and it is divine. I tried to take it out of the container and plate it to make it look prettier but the base was falling apart.


The base (which you can't see) tastes oaty and crumbly (and is apparently gluten-free for those of you needing that sort of thing) and then is topped with, actually, I don't know but it was brown and yummy. Then it's loaded up with roast veges like carrots, pumpkin, capsicum and zucchini...very delicious. Plus their chutney they serve with it is fabulous. Don't know what kind it is but I want some...now!

And one can't go to The Blue Bird without partaking in some crumble with soy ice cream.


Seriously, this crumble can completely brighten my day...like I said yesterday, it's the simple things ☺

The delight of food in cardboard cartons

You see, it's so frightfully difficult when you've nobody. You're so at the mercy of things. You can't just be rude. And you've always this horror of seeming inexperienced and stuffy like the other ninnies at the Bay. And - and it's fascinating to know you've power over people. yes, that is fascinating...
- The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield

I normally bring lunch to work (usually leftovers...my favourite) but sometimes I've forgotten or there isn't anything to take so then I have to head further afield to find food. There aren't a great deal of good lunch options near my work unless I feel like trekking down to the foodcourt (which normally, embarrassingly enough, I normally feel too lazy).

Probably my favourite place to go is Renkon. I pretty much always order the same thing...


Teriyaki Tofu on rice (you can't see the rice 'cause it's hidden under so much goodness). So good.

If you get it takeaway you get it in one of those really cool cardboard cartons.


It's the little things that make your day!