Quick and easy felafel wrap with mint and cucumber yogurt.

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Hi. I'm Veggie Mama, and I like to cut corners.

While I've no doubt a made-from-scratch felafel would be gorgeous, juicy little balls packed with mouth-watering flavour, I've never had cause to make them by hand. Yet.

For my various felafel needs, which admittedly to this date have been few, I turn to the trusty little yellow box that I've no doubt pleased thousands like myself over the years. I don't know who makes them or where they come from, but they make their way into my basket from time to time and make very satisfactory little felafel thingies for my wraps.

One thing I do insist on, however, is the making of my own mint-cucumber-garlic-yogurt concoction either as a dressing or dipping sauce. The flavour is just never the same when you get it out of a tub. The tubs are good... especially at parties when I'm vulturing around the buffet table, but at home I like to be able to whip a bit up myself.

And look at these felafel babies. Suit my purpose perfectly!

 On a soft wrap, I grate some cheese, and add chopped tomato, red onion and lettuce. The more like a 2am kebab, the better. I usually put hommus too, but I didn't have any - gasp!

I make the felafel according to packet directions but I'm lazy and I don't roll them into balls. I spoon them out onto a greased tray like little flat cookies and bake until set.

For my dressing, I add one minced garlic clove and one diced lebanese cucumber to 200g natural Greek-style yogurt with a handful of chopped mint and a lot of salt.

Yum.

Now here's the part where I ask you if you've got an awesome felafel recipe to share, in case one day I decide to shed my lazy ways - I know there's got to be something out there that will make me cry with joy! Felafel FTW.

*disclaimer: Just like I've no idea of the company of origin of my friendly yellow felafel box, they haven't a clue who I am. I paid my two bucks for it like anybody else in the supermarket. I just like it, is all, and I share what I like xxx

Meatless Monday - Kid food: Silverbeet and pumpkin mini quiches

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Kid food is fun! Well it is to me, anyway, as I always love making stuff in tiny sizes. No wonder I love bento so much.

I made about 24 of these gorgeous little things and ate about 20 myself when Abby was reticent to investigate them. Veggie Dad took some for work lunches and the rest I froze. Still not sure if they'll work out, time will tell, I suppose! I find them very handy to just grab and eat on the go, a healthy alternative to what was most likely going to be a muesli bar or biscuit or something.

You could always just put the mix in one quiche plate if you're wanting something bigger, but I find these little portions to be no extra effort.

Ingredients:
1.5 cups cubed pumpkin, steamed 2 minutes
chopped silverbeet, spinach or kale
1-2 tomatoes, chopped
2 cups grated cheese
1 small onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 eggs
1.5 cups milk
1/2 cup self-raising flour
salt
pepper

Directions:

1. In muffin trays, distribute cubed pumpkin, silverbeet, tomato and cheese evenly.

2. In a large bowl, mix onion, garlic, milk, eggs and flour until combined.

3. Transfer to a jug and pour a little into each muffin tray. You don't really need much, it will puff as it cooks and you're really just looking to bind the ingredients, not have them swim in it.

4. Bake in a 180-200C oven for 15 minutes until puffed and golden.


Serve hot, warm or cold.

Linky bitz...

♥ The linky will be up every Monday morning, and will stay up until the following Sunday. It doesn't matter if you eat your meal on a day other than Monday - it's just an easy day to create the link!
♥ Grab the Meatless Monday button above and put it in your post, and even on your sidebar if you're feeling generous.
♥ Visit at least one other blogger and leave some love. This is so much more cool if we're in it together!
Where it says "Name", you might like to add the name of your dish instead or as well.

And please... no seafood! I'm no militant veg head, but I draw the line there.

Abby Graham Crackers

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Graham Crackers have always reminded me of Raggedy Ann and Andy. I remember they had them as a snack with milk, in one of my Little Golden Books. And, of course, s'mores. While s'mores never really sounded like my thing although the girls at The Babysitter's Club were making them at sleepovers all the time, Graham Crackers always did.

I really like these biscuits - they seem more like biscuits than crackers to me, but that may be because I took them out of the oven while they were still soft for Abby to be able to manage. They're kind of gingerbready, and she absolutely loves them. I give her one and within seconds it's demolished. And the recipe makes a lot and they keep really well. I'll be making them again!

I used this recipe from Parents.com... except where they say to poke A-B-C into your crackers with a skewer, I just poked Abby's name. Cute. When they came out of the oven they had spread a bit and the holes closed over so I just poked them over again. Still cute.

Sundried Tomato and Goat Cheese Mini Quiches

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How cute are these little thangs?! And you know what? They're the easiest thing in the world to make. And even good cold. Hell, you could even make one big quiche because all it requires is an impossible quiche recipe... doctored up a little.

I can't remember which one I used now (it's around here somewhere!) but this recipe on taste.com is very similar and will work perfectly. Just swap the chorizo and capsicum with chopped semi-dried tomatoes and bits of goat cheese (I used the marinated stuff in a jar), top with parsley and some basil, and cook 15-20 minutes. Easy peasy!

I made these for a party that required canapes that could be eaten without plates and utensils. They're tiny and bite-size, and work just as well in lunchboxes. You could even make a huge batch and freeze. By lunchtime they'll be ready to go.

Let's see what you've got!

Linky bitz...

♥ The linky will be up at 9am every Monday morning, and will stay up until the following Sunday.
♥ Grab the Meatless Monday button above and put it in your post, and even on your sidebar if you're feeling generous.
♥ Visit at least one other blogger and leave some love. This is so much more cool if we're in it together!

Where it says "Name", you might like to add the name of your dish instead or as well.

Decadent Chocolate Mud Cake

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It is a truth universally acknowledged that all home cooks should be armed with a good mud cake recipe.  Even me, someone who isn't much of a fan of cake. To me, they're too cake-y (heh), oftentimes dry and lacking in flavour. I also didn't find mud cakes all that palatable - too dense, usually served cold (a travesty!) and weirdly textured. 

My husband said to me one day recently "so... you should probably do a chocolate mud cake for your blog", wink wink nudge nudge, so to appease him, I did. But it had to be something I wanted, so it had to be made with very little flour. I wanted sort of a cross between a pudding and a cake - no ghastly dry tasteless bits. A flourless chocolate cake with flour, if you will.

I also needed an excuse to wear my super-cute Smitten apron I had won through a promotion Liss from Frills in the Hills was running on Pinterest. If you've never been to Pinterest, stop what you're doing immediately and go look. It's porn for anyone with eyes and a house. 

Welcome to the Veggie Mama kitchen.

 Cutified x 1000 thanks to Smitten apron.

Sure I grease my tins with whole blocks of butter... don't you? ;)

Inspected and approved.

Even by the humans.

Ingredients
200g butter
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
250g best-quality cooking chocolate
1/4 cup self-raising flour

Ganache:
150g cooking chocolate
3-4 tbs cream

Method:

1. Cream butter and sugar.

2. Add eggs, one at a time.

3. Melt chocolate and add to the mix with the self-raising flour.

4. Bake at 180C oven for 45-50 minutes.

5. When cool, ice with ganache.

Ganache:

1. Melt chocolate with cream. Add more cream if chocolate is too thick.

We're fond of putting this in the microwave... then serving it with ice cream. Yep.


*Disclaimer - I am in no way affiliated with Smitten. I simply loved their products and was lucky enough to win one. They are awesome and you should check them out. They make candles too! 

My Scones + Adriano Zumbo = World Domination

Or almost, anyway.

I have entered these babies into the Lurpak Challenge - Strawberry Pop Tart Scones.

mmmm Pop-Tarty. Recipe here

Anyhow, If I make it to the top 55 with the popular vote, they will then go through to other rounds to be judged by Adriano Zumbo. Yes, that guy. In the words of 2010 Masterchef winner Adam Liaw: Adriano Fricken Zumbo.

I could also win $1500.

I could also get my very own recipe cards at Woolies. With my little Veggie face on them. I like this.

If you could please vote for me here - I'd be super grateful. No personal info, no facebook likes, no nastiness (ahem Bonds Babies, anyone?) just a vote and some love. Then my Pop Tart Scones and I can rule the world.

Strawberry Pop Tart Scones

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I'm always bemused by the difference between scones and scones. You know, the English-style round ones with jam and cream, and the American triangle ones stuffed with things other than sultanas... thank goodness. I just can't come at a sultana scone.
When I saw this recipe for strawberry pop tart scones, I didn't even baulk at them not being round and familiar, like I usually do. All I knew is that I wanted them. I wanted their crunchy, breakfast-food-style strawberry goodness immediately, if not sooner. Pop Tart scones? Amazing.

Unfortunately it was nowhere near strawberry season when I made them, so I decided to add strawberry jam preserves instead of the fresh strawberries the original recipe called for. Not a bad idea, it turned out. Crunchy. Soft in the middle. Strawberry-y. I ate them for morning tea with a cup of coffee, but they could really be had any time. Breakfast, weekend brunch, after-school afternoon tea... you can even tell yourself they're healthier than a breakfast pastry. Probably because they are!

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/3 cup sugar
85g tablespoons butter, grated
1/2 cup cream
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup strawberry jam

Icing:
1/2 cup icing sugar
a drop or two of pink food colouring
Enough milk to get to the right consistency - a teaspoon at a time.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 250C

2. In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, and baking powder. Rub in the cold grated butter with your fingertips until blended and the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.

3. Add milk, cream and egg. Mix until a dough forms, adding the jam half way through.

4. Pat dough into a large circle on a lined baking tray and cut into eight pieces. Separate the pieces about an inch apart and bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden.

5. Mix the icing and drizzle over.




So what do you prefer? The traditional English-style scone, or an American-style triangle? And what do you top them with?

Vegan Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes

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There's no need to be afraid of vegan baking.

Once upon a time I thought vegans ate nothing but weird meat analogues and nuts and seeds and other strange things this little country girl had never heard of. And lentils*. The horror!

Turns out I was wrong. Which happens sometimes when you actually learn about things rather than just assume. And I had a lot to learn.

The first time I baked a vegan cake, I could not believe the results. I was nothing if not a devotee to butter, and I knew how important eggs were for making things rise. I don't really know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't a well-flavoured, moist cake that's for sure.

All vegan baking really comes down to is perhaps some dairy-free margarine and something to replace the eggs - apple puree, vegetable oil, mashed banana - it isn't really difficult. And in fact can be quite helpful if you are halfway through a cake when you realise you don't have any eggs. Something I've done once or twice. Ahem.

As I've said before, I'm really fussy with my food. If it isn't amazing, I won't eat it. Life's too short, right? Well I'm rarely a cake eater, but when I do indulge it's only with something that isn't a waste of time and calories. Pleased to say this cake is neither.

Now this isn't my recipe, I've only tweaked it from the vegan guru Isa Chandra Moskowitz and her revolutionary book Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. It's the vegan cupcake bible, and Isa is the vegan baking messiah.

Anywhere you see extra flavouring, I've added cherry brandy essence. The rest I kept exactly the same. I also added chopped glace cherries to the top and sprinkled a little cocoa powder over. Try it! You might like it. I served these to the guests at my baby shower, none of whom are even vegetarian, let alone vegan.

Vegan Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract, chocolate extract, or more vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180C and line a muffin or cupcake tray with liners.

2. Whisk the soy milk and vinegar and set aside for a few minutes. Add sugar, oil, extracts, and beat until foamy.

3. In a separate bowl, sift flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat until there are no big lumps.

4. Fill liners 3/4 of the way and bake 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and cool before frosting.


Vegan Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:
1/2 cup dairy-free margarine (Nuttelex is good)
1 3/4 cups icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
A drop or two of cherry brandy essence
A drop or two of pink food colouring
1/4 cup soy milk

Directions:
Mix!

For more vegan deliciousness, visit the "links" bar at the top of the page. A whole new world awaits!

* lentils are delicious. Little did I know...

Finish Quantum and the Chocolate Challenge

I'm a teensy bit competitive. Not the sweaty, athletic type, but if there's a challenge going on, I don't like to lose. You're looking at a crossword competition champion and inaugural ice-block-eating winner. Oh! and once I had to suck jelly through a straw with my hands behind my back. I won that too.

And if you don't like to lose, don't play me in Trivial Pursuit...

If you want to see my dreams die before your very eyes, play me in Scrabble (yes, I completely suck even though I'm a professional writer... go figure), Monopoly, checkers, chess (I have a deep-seated love-hate relationship with it) or poker. That being said, I'm a mean Boggler and Battleship-er.

When someone throws down a challenge, I more than likely accept. I want to triumph, dammit! I was encouraged by the good people at Finish to bake an uber-ooey-gooey caramel chocolate brownie and to wash the pan with their new Finish Quantum tablets in my dishwasher. I was skeptical. I mean, tons of the caramel from the eggs had melted through the brownie and was now stuck fast on the bottom of the pan. I couldn't even scrape it off. 

Well we couldn't have it going to waste now, could we?

Yet, the next morning both Veggie Dad and I were genuinely surprised to see a very clean pan indeed. 

Impressive...

Sure there was a little left over, but it brushed right off, and did I mention the baked-on caramel?

This killed me.

The fun part is that we got to eat these brownies. You can too! And if you make a ridiculous mess like I did, then email finishsamples@handlingmatters.com.au for your very own free sample of Finish Quantum. #winning!

Delicious easter egg brownies are constructed thusly:

Ingredients:

125g unsalted butter

200g dark chocolate, chopped

3/4 cup caster sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup plain flour, sifted

2 x 110g packets caramel easter eggs

cocoa powder, to serve

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan forced. Coat the baking dish in non-stick spray.

2. Place the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water on low heat. Don't let the bowl touch the water.

3. Cook, stirring for 2-3 minutes until smooth and combined. Remove from heat. Stir in sugar thoroughly until you have a silky consistency. Set aside for 5 minutes.

4. Stir in beaten eggs and flour. Pour a mixture into a prepared dish. Spread top evenly with a spatula. Press chocolate eggs into brownie mixture.

*Disclaimer: I was given this challenge and all the necessary items as a gift from Finish. I wasn't obliged to write anything at all. However, did I mention the baked-on caramel?!

Bento

I get very excited about bento. A Japanese version of a lunchbox, bento has devoted followers not just in Japan, but all over the world. And I can see why. It appeals to my senses of order and pretty - some bentoists go to elaborate measures to present food in the most attractive way possible. I just like how it looks in its tiny little sections, all delicately garnished and separate and cute. And please, don't get me started on the containers themselves... they were just about the only thing I brought back from Japan!

Below is how I'd have my lunch every day if only I had the time, the inclination, and the skill:



Never gonna happen.
Link



Below is one way that bento can be constructed in Japan for either lunch or dinner:




I love the random bits of one orange segment or one cherry tomato.
Link



Below is how a lazy Australian Veggie Mama packs a bento:



Still tastes good!

Extra snacks :)

Fruit and treats.

I love bento for the excuse I get to have cute things and make my food look pretty. On the plus side, the food also tastes good. On the negative side, it can take slightly more effort than slapping some Vegemite on Wonder White and throwing some Iced Vo-Vos in Glad Wrap. But honestly? Not much more. The point is to have it tightly packed, garnished, cracks filled and tiny portions of lots of things. Speaking of tiny portions, Japan was Veggie Mama's dream come true. Everything I ate was dainty and perfectly proportioned for me - right down to the three artfully-placed drops of ketchup next to my neatly mounded mashed potatoes. sigh.

For this I've added some dinner leftovers... veggies sauteed in garlic, chili, teriyaki sauce and rice wine vinegar, some rice, and two bamboo-wrapped mock chicken pieces. Hello Kitty contains wasabi peas, cherry tomatoes and edamame for snacking or as extras (extra containers are known as 'sidecars' among the bento enthusiasts) and the Clickety Click container with grapes, a jam sandwich and a cream cheese sandwich cut into shapes, and a mini Hershey treat. The top of this container kills me with its Engrish - it says "Yummy yummy, my name is Rinda. I love the white cake. And sweet cherries", and has a picture of a yellow, winking rabbit. ADORABLE.

There are tons of bento blogs for you to check out, should you be so inclined, with tons of ideas to make your food cute. Some make Pokemon cheese shapes for their kindergartners, some colour their rice blue and make a full underwater scene with their food. Some press boiled eggs into various shapes that imprint cheerful faces on them, some cut octopi out of hot dogs. I will be doing all this and more when Bumpington goes to school, so lets put the good vibe out there now that it will be a girl, as I"m not sure a son would ever forgive me....

Vintage Lane - Raspberry Buns from Nana's War Cookbook

Warning: this post is going to contain a lot of pictures. Because this recipe book is so cool. I honestly wish it was in better condition :(

As I've mentioned before, I couldn't make it to my grandmother's funeral, so my mother packed up some of her old cookbooks and aprons and brought them back for me. This is one of them. I cannot for the life of me figure out what the name is, nor when it was made - save to guess it was around the time of World War II, as there's a lot of info and ads geared to the goings-on of that time.

Hello. My name is _________________



Fire stove baking! As compared with Electric stove baking.

As with most of the books from this time, there is a bunch of information at the start about various things. So many tests to see if your oven is ready, etc... we once had a wood stove. I felt like I lived in the House on the Prairie.

Here's something you don't see every day though - making a will! I guess it was pretty important in times of war to ensure everyone was covered, and as recipe books were usually the bible of the housewife it makes sense that this kind of information was available to them easily.

There is also a preface by one Dorothy M. Giles, who politely informs us she has a Diploma of Domestic Economy. What I wouldn't give for one of those! Hailing as the 'sometimes' head of the Cookery Section of Swinburne Technical College, Glenferrie, Victoria (when did that section disapper?!), she has many years practical experience. Probably not in will-making, however.

She confidently recommends to all users of the book to patronise the advertisers therein, and also to use the ingredients advertised. Ok.

Ms Giles also regrets having to increase the price to 3/3, which has been approved by the Prices Commissioner (nice guy) - Approval No 1790 - and is necessitated "owing to the other paper being unprocurable and the super-calendar paper used in this issue being much more expensive," and goes on to say there is some compensation in the superior appearance of the book with its fancy new paper. Probably the sole reason it's still together all these years later!

There are recipes for soup, fish, meats, meat pies and pasties, chicken, cold meat dishes, economies, vegetables (with a little section on rules for preparation), steamed puddings, milk puddings, boiled puddings, cold sweets, jellies and creams, gelatine (an advertiser), pastry, pies, sauces, sandwich cakes, butter cakes, wedding cake, icings and fillings, biscuits, scones, bread, tea cakes, yeast goods, breakfast, eggs, casseroles, preserves, savories, and apologies about the lack of invalid cooking, which you can find in another book.

om nom not.

hm cake + brain... not a delicious combination.

Not sure what's weirder... a good daughter pudding or one made out of cabinets?

An example of the photos. There aren't many.



This was a popular page! Honey cakes next.



This poem cracked me up. How cute.

Plenty of "how to get a man" hints...

 I found this tucked away among the pages.

Still have no idea what this recipe makes!

"I'll have some propaganda with my buns, thanks."

You've been told...

LOVE IT.

There were so many recipes in here I wanted to make - from apple shortbread with lemon cream, to little honey cakes and cheese straws. But I couldn't go past the raspberry buns recipe - they sounded so cute! When I was a kid I used to love reading Enid Blyton, and she had a character called Mr Pinkwhistle. He had a cat for a housekeeper that always made him chocolate buns, and I always wanted to eat them! I will make chocolate buns one day... soon...

Anyway, this recipe gave amounts in pounds and gills (cute, right?) so I have adapted in case you'd like to make them yourself. Good for afternoon tea or as a home-made treat in a lunch box :)

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

70ml milk

1/2 cup ground rice/rice flour

1 1/2 cups plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder.

Method:

1. Cream butter and sugar, add the egg and the milk.

2. Then the flour and baking powder, and mix into a fairly stiff paste.

3. Roll into small balls and hollow the centre of each.

4. Insert a little raspberry jam and close up. Dip into the white of an egg and put on a greased tray.

5. Bake in a quick oven. They will crack during the baking and show the jam.

They were so nice - a lot like a jam drop, but with the jam inside. I found it much easier to pat them into discs and pop the jam on top, then pinch closed and form into a ball from there. But that probably means the jam stayed more inside the bun, much like a donut and not a cracked-open jam-filled delight. It's up to you! for me, the "quick oven" was 250C for 20 minutes-half an hour.

Vintage Lane - Cherry Ripe Slice from the Harston CWA Recipe Book

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This little gem of a cookbook was once owned by my great-grandmother, and was given to me after my nana died. I couldn't make the interstate funeral, so my mother brought me back some of her aprons and all the cookbooks she could find. This one has all the recipes for slices and baked goodies I remember eating when I was a kid in the '80s, when it was the thing to do to bring a chocolate mint slice or tupperware container of honey joys to a potluck or backyard barbecue. And it was the thing for me to do to hover around the table and gorge on as many of them as I could...

Oh, hey Granny!

This book is dated October 31, 1981 and the foreword congratulates the Harston CWA members on 25 years' service to the community, and mentions that this cookery book is hoped to be a "challenge to the experienced and an aid to the newly-weds".

My favourite part of the book is this: an aid to good people everywhere.

Disgusting, yet helpful...

Something for everyone

I've said it before, but I'm totally bringing back the word "luncheon" to describe the midday meal. And I get a little excited when something is termed "savouries"... this book gives recipes for curried eggs, savoury tuna slice, toasted cheese sticks and a "desperation dinner" - meatballs in savoury sauce with potatoes on top... all stuff you'd normally find in a pantry.

Other highlights include boiled chicken loaf, rice a riso casserole, braised rabbit, golden syrup dumplings (yum!), jelly slice, and pickled zucchini.

This page looked especially popular:

Mmm flour that's as old as I am...

Casting my mind back to those barbecue tables all those years ago (ahem), the standout favourite for me was the Cherry Ripe Slice. Therefore, it's vitally necessary that I re-live those wondrous moments...

Recipe: Cherry Ripe Slice

Ingredients:
1 lb malt biscuits
2oz chopped glace cherries
1/2 teaspoon cochineal
1 tablespoon caster sugar
3oz Copha
1/2 lb coconut
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1/2 tsp almond essence

Directions:

Grease a 7" x 11" swiss roll tin and arrange a layer of malt biscutis in the base. Melt copha and mix in remaining ingredients, blending thoroughly, spread over layer of biscuits. Top with another layer of biscuits, pressing them firmly into mixutre. Ice with chocolate icing when set, cut into small squares. Cherries and almond essence may be omitted OR replace evaporated milk with 3/4 cup condensed milk and cut out caster sugar.



I totally forgot the caster sugar (but it didn't seem to make a noticeable difference), and only used one packet, or 250g of the malt biscuits. Nor did I grease the tin, but did put down a piece of greaseproof baking paper. Still tastes just as I remember it!