Saag Channa

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Megan, why are you posting pictures of ugly food again?" But hear me out on this one, please. I once saw an ex order a version of this when we ate Indian food for dinner. I saw a gloop of spinach puree (and this was back when I hated spinach), filled with cubes of curd cheese (I will ALWAYS hate each and every cheese, vegan or not) and wanted to throw up. Can anyone think of anything more disgusting? And then all of a sudden, I was faced with greens that needed using, a stomach that needed filling, and a strange craving for some spice. Uh-oh. This was about to get serious.

Now, I'm kicking myself that this has taken me so long. Usually I'm pretty reasonable, and I come around to things relatively quickly. (Me, stubborn? Never!) But when I made this, and hesitantly tried a spoonful, I realised that I've been an idiot for the last 8 years. I'm sorry, tastebuds, that you've been deprived. My version was made with a mix of spinach and kale, a hefty sprinkling of spices, just enough chilli to have my lips tingling, and freshly-cooked chickpeas. Served over quinoa, a comfort food if ever there was one (creamy? check. grainy? check. Bases covered.) this was an amazing dinner, and an eye-opening experience. Saag, I'm sorry that I ignored you for so long. I promise to make it up to you in future... even if you are ugly.

Saag Channa

1 head kale or 1 huge bunch spinach (or a mix!) finely chopped
2 large spring onions (or 1 small onion), finely chopped
1x 4cm piece ginger, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 Tbsp chilli puree (sambal oelek is fine!)
400g tin chickpeas (or 1 & 1/2 cups home-cooked; not sure what that is dry, sorry!)
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander seed powder
oil
salt and pepper, to taste

In a large pot sautee garlic, ginger, onion, chilli, and spices in a tiny splash of oil, until fragrant. The garlic and onion should be transparent. Add the greens, and mix well, allowing the greens to wilt evenly.
As soon as the greens are wilted, transfer the entire mix to your blender. Blend carefully - remember that this is hot, and accordingly, I always remove the plastic insert in the lid of our blender, so that it won't explode with the steam pressure. You want the mix to be as smooth as humanly possible.
Return the mix to your pot and add the chickpeas. Season to taste with salt and pepper, allowing it just long enough to warm the chickpeas. Best served over grains; basmati rice or quinoa are my recommendations.
Eat!

Garlic Spinach with Polenta

This is one of those staples-meals that I've been falling back on a lot recently. Over my busy last few weeks, I've wanted quick and easy food that still has good nutritional content. And I can't even begin to tell you how much I craved green vegetables. The craving is finally subsiding, so I must have fulfiled whatever vitamin/mineral deficiency that was (personally I think it's a reaction to a lack of sunlight, but meh, can't fight the weather gods). Irrespective of your cravings, creamy polenta and sauteed garlic spinach are a guaranteed winner.

3 heads young spinach (or one bunch spinach), thoroughly washed, chopped
3 cloves garlic
olive oil
salt, pepper
1 cup coarse polenta
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 tsp fresh thyme or savoury
water or vege stock

To prepare the polenta: Put the polenta into a small pot. Add boiling water (or hot vege stock), stirring continuously, in a slow but steady stream. Allow the polenta to be about as runny as cake batter. Cook until the polenta has softened into a mashed-potato like consistency, adding more water or stock, as required. Mix through the herbs, plus salt and pepper to taste, and keep warm.
To prepare the spinach: Heat a touch of olive oil in a pan. Add the garlic, allowing to just turn transparent, before adding the spinach. Fold the spinach over continuously, so that it cooks evenly. When done to your liking (I like mine to still have some bite, so the second that none of it looks raw) remove it from the heat. Season with salt and pepper, and serve over the polenta.

Garlic and White Bean dip.

Sorry for disappearing off the face of the earth after the Vegan Month of Food... I've been pretty flat-out lately, but that's not all bad. In fact, a very good dip came from a recent visit to my friends in Muenster: Tash and I were lamenting the lack of ready-made dips, but a quick scan of her kitchen proved that she had all the necessary ingredient to make one of the easiest (and most garlicky) dips around:

Garlic and White Bean Dip

1 x 400g tin white beans, washed and drained
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic
juice of 1/2 small lemon
salt and pepper

Sautee the garlic in the olive oil until browned.
Add all ingredients to your lovely food processor. Or Tash's lovely food processor, in this case. Blend until smooth.
Add water to adjust consistency - you want it thick, but you need to be able to dip the crackers without breaking them.
Tash also had some chives in her fridge, so I added a couple. They did look rather pretty.

Confession: I really enjoy taking over other people's kitchens! ;)

Polish-style Cabbage Stew

This stew is definite Winter-food. Considering the weather that we've had in Paderborn lately (including the first snowfall of the season yesterday) it's an appropriate meal to make. It's thick, rich, and made of seasonal vegetables: cabbage and onion. This is one of the few times I've written about anything with a pre-prepared mock meat. I'm not a fan of meat-replacements, but while I was researching this recipe (which is based on Bigos, a Polish stew) I found a lot of meat-heavy recipes, and decided to give it a try. I ate something like this in Poland, and enjoyed the sweet/sour flavour, so I decided to recreate it. The result was pretty accurate, but in future, I'm going to omit the mock.

So, your first step: obtain a vintage 'Salzburg' themed pot from your friendly German housemate. Seriously, how cute is it? I'd never voluntarily obtain something like this into my own kitchen, because I'm a bit picky about aesthetics, but it's so much fun to use other people's vintage cookware. Plus, this came from the housemate's grandmother, which makes it even more adorable. I may have the world's ugliest kitchen - ok, debatable, but it's not pretty! - but at least I can enjoy certain aspects.

I'd like you to have a good look at the picture above. That, my friends, is the largest clove of garlic that I've ever held. When you consider that I also have very long fingers (ET is in for a challenge!) then maybe you'll get a sense of perspective. It was fresh garlic, which meant that the surrounding layers of skin hadn't dried out, so those got chopped up and added to the stew as well. I can't abide by wasting something that contributes so much flavour.

Speaking of flavour, a lot of it comes from the onions. They're delicious, quite frankly. I used red onions, because that's what was in my pantry, though the colour was hidden by the use of the tomato passata. So really, it's your choice. What is not your choice, however is the cabbage: do as I say, and not as I do. I used a savoy cabbage, because honestly, they're beautiful. They're just a good-looking vegetable. Unfortunately, using savoy didn't give me the same texture as the original stew, and thus, I'd recommend that you use a normal, boring, flat-leaved green cabbage. Sorry, but you'll just have to trust me that you'll enjoy it more. ;)

Sigh. See what I mean about beautiful vegetables? However, this is no place for a beautiful vegetable, because my stews are not beautiful dishes. It's like I always say: ugly food tastes better, but you want to eat the pretty stuff. I'm exactly the same, but thankfully (or not?) I've had enough beautiful but tasteless meals to now rely on my sense of smell a little more. If food smells good, I want to eat it. Simple. So, here's a stew that will make your kitchen smell delicious for hours as it slowly simmers on your stovetop. Serve it with chunks of potato, or better yet, omit the mock meat and use potato in its place. Mop up the remnants with crusty bread while you stare at the snowflakes sliding down your window.

Polish-style Cabbage Stew

1/2 green cabbage, shredded as finely as humanly possible (or finer, if you have a mandolin or food processor)
2 onions, finely sliced
6 cloves garlic - the normal-sized ones ;)
2 bay leaves
750ml tomato passata (puree)
5 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar*
1 Tbsp brown sugar
water (or light vegetable stock)
300g pack mock meat (I used soy-based chunks, which I cut in half)
salt
pepper
olive oil

Using a medium heat, sautee the onion and garlic in oil until tender. Throw in the bay leaves and sautee for a few minutes longer, until the alliums are browned.
Add the cabbage, folding gently to allow it to mix with the onion, and sautee for a few minutes. You want to stir it frequently so that it begins to soften evenly, instead of browning on the bottom and being raw on top.
When the cabbage is softened, add the tomato passata and tomato paste. To that, add the vinegar, sugar, and enough water or stock to just barely cover the cabbage.
Turn the heat down to low and simmer gently, covered, for as long as you can manage. I managed about four hours. If your mix requires more liquid in this time, just top it up with water. This would also be excellent in a slow-cooker.
Add the mock meat chunks about 5 minutes before serving - they'll only need to warm up. If you're using potatoes, which will be what I'll do next time, throw them in half an hour before you plan to eat. That way, they'll have sufficient time to simmer to a lovely soft texture.
Season to taste with salt and pepper, and adjust the sweet/sour balance with a touch more vinegar or sugar if needed.
This tastes even better the day after it's made... so makes fantastic leftovers. :)

*balsamic is completely non-traditional. Most recipes I saw called for sauerkraut mixed in with the cabbage to provide sourness. I hate sauerkraut, so this is my sweet-sour substitution.

Crispy Vegetable Pancakes

Nom nom nom. Crispy vegetable pancakes were the order of the day... or, for breakfast, at least. I wasn't hungry when I woke up, so by the time I decided I wanted to eat something, it was nearly time for lunch. So I figured that I'd go with an all-purpose brunch food, something savoury and filling, but a little more creative than my usual breakfast food. So I decided on vegetable pancakes, using the leftover garlic kale in my fridge. Sure, I'm a fan of leftovers for breakfast, but I already had some of the leftover kale yesterday at breakfast. ;) I have to keep things interesting, you know!

So I decided to make it into crispy pancakes, Asian-style. The original idea for these was based on a thin, delicious pancake that I ate in South Korea more than a decade ago. It was made by my host-grandmother and I remember tearing off pieces with chopsticks, enjoying every bite, as the girl who was hosting me tore into it alongside. We could barely communicate, sure, but I'm pretty sure that the pancake transcended that. When I got back to Australia, I made a similar version, using spring onions and sometimes really finely shaved green capsicum. I later expanded into thin strips of other vegetables, and generally stick to thicker fritters with a lighter, airier batter than the original flour-and-water mix. But for this one, I decided on some familiar flavours: greens, spring onion, chilli, garlic, and sesame oil. The first one was so good that I ate the entire thing before I remembered to add salt. Alternately, slice it and dip it into soy sauce and chilli as you eat. Heavenly.

You'll see in the second photo here that I've let the batter set completely before flipping it. I cook these over a high heat, and by letting the batter completely set, not only am I allowing the bottom to crisp up, I'm making it easier to flip the pancake in one piece. If you try to flip too soon, much like any ordinary pancake, you'll just make a mess of it. This recipe is me using maximum veg to minimum batter, which means it's a little more fragile than a normal pancake or fritter, but I didn't have any troubles. Normally I shy away from using very much oil (and for some pancakes, I don't use any!) but here, you need it. You'll never achieve the crispy outside if you don't use oil. So hey, live a little. Does the below photo make anyone else think of those satellite maps of rivers and mountains? Hm, never mind.

Crispy Vegetable Pancakes
1 cup plain flour
1 & 1/2 cups cooked greens, chopped*
1/2 cup soymilk
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped/crushed
1 tsp siracha or chilli paste
1 tsp sesame oil
2 large spring onions, greens included, finely chopped
1/2 tsp baking powder (optional; for those who like a lighter pancake)
water
oil

Mix flour, baking powder and soymilk together with enough water to make a thin pancake batter. Into this batter, stir the greens, siracha, garlic, spring onions and sesame oil.
Fry the batter in thin pancakes - pour about a half-cup into the hot, oiled pan and press it with a fork to distribute. If you press down on the mix with a fork, batter comes up between the vegetables, and keeps it from developing too many holes (which can happen when you're spreading it just by pushing).
Allow the batter to set to enable easier flipping. When the underside is golden and crunchy, flip the pancake, and cook until the second side is equally toasty.
Serve with a sprinkling of salt, or with soy sauce for dipping.

* You can, of course, use many other vegetables. The idea is that they're finely sliced, so that you can get them even distributed throughout the pancake. Raw greens would be somewhat harder to work with, due to their volume (and their shape, if you're using curly kale), which is why I recommend using leftover cooked greens.

Couscous stuffed Pumpkin

Ok, I know that's not a pumpkin, it's a delicata squash. But hey, I'm only one person here, so I don't need to make a whole giant filled butternut (oh wait, that's also a squash) for myself. So, the easy solution: Make four servings, using two smallish delicatas, and then keep them in the fridge. It should have lasted longer than two days, but I think we all know that I'm totally hooked on eating dinner foods for breakfast... oh, and for lunch. And even for dinner, sometimes.

This recipe is super-easy, and simply requires the patience to let your vegetables roast. That's the hardest part by far. Comparitively easy is cutting your delicata in half, scooping out the seeds, and chopping a few vegetables. It's a cinch, I promise, and you end up with a dish that looks like a lot more work than it actually was. I put roasted pumpkin into my couscous mix, simply because I had a muskatcurbis that I wanted to roast. The flesh is a brilliant orange and it has fantastic flavour, so I recommend them. However, if you're going to use a butternut, it's easiest to cut some flesh out from the centre of the pumpkin, so that you have more space to stuff with couscous. Then you've got the extra to roast, and your butternut won't need so long in the oven. It makes the whole 'patience' part a little easier, too!

Usually I like to sautee my zucchini, but it's just as easy to throw it with some oil and leave it in the oven for a while. I added some tomato a little later (it needs less time than the zucchini) and it worked a treat. If you like your zucchini to be more browned, just add more olive oil. I was probably a little too light on the oil, in fact. That's what I get for trying to be healthy: poorly-coloured zucchini cubes. Somehow, I'm not too affected by such tragedies. ;)

I eat a lot of olive oil already, because I try to steer away from hydrogenated fats. Also, it's one of the more natural oils, because it can be pressed; I don't like the idea of solvents being used to produce something that I'm going to eat. I know that I do get lazy, and eat processed foods (give me bread!) but I'd like to think that overall, I'm healthy. Sure, I like occasional sweet treats, but not after every meal. I'd much rather dip a piece of crusty bread into a bowl of olive oil, sprinkled with salt... don't get me started on how much I love salt! But before I get too many ideas about my next snack, I'd better write out this recipe.

Couscous Stuffed Pumpkin
1 butternut or 2 delicata squash, halved lenthwise and seeded
olive oil
1/2 cup instant couscous

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1 cup vege stock (boiling hot please)

1 large / 2 small zucchini

3 cloves garlic

2 large tomatoes

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1/4 tsp ground coriander seeds

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

salt and pepper

Roast your squash - if you're using the butternut, hollow it out as I mentioned above, and roast the extra flesh in some olive oil. For a nice colour, rub the insides of the squash with olive oil. A sprinkling of salt won't go astray, either! My delicata took 20 mins at 220 degrees, but butternut will take somewhat longer.

Meanwhile, chop your zucchini and toss in oil with garlic cloves. Roast for 10 mins before throwing in your chopped tomato, which will take another 10-15.
Add the boiling stock to the couscous in a large bowl. Stir so that the couscous is thoroughly soaked, and leave to sit for 10 minutes to absorb. Test for texture - if the couscous is still hard in the centre, add another 1/4 cup boiling water. How much you need will depend on how coarse your couscous is, so keep that in mind.
When your vegetables are cooked, take them out of the oven. Peel and finely chop the garlic, then mix them through the couscous. Season with your spices and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Add the parsley at the last second so that it doesn't blacken, and fill the roasted pumpkin shells with the couscous. Eat!

Garlic Colcannon

Yum! I love food like this. It's quick and easy to make, but incredibly comforting. Mashed potato tends to do that to a person, though. I'm not one for mush-foods usually, and love them best when they're mixed with something with texture. Examples: I mix my apfelmus/applesauce with crispy spelt oats. I mix baby spinach leaves through my daal. And I mix garlicky kale through my mashed potatoes. This dish is based on Irish Colcannon, except that I added so much garlic that it could no longer be called Irish. I think it's better this way.

I've been jealous for a while, reading a squillion American food blogs where they seem to have kale whenever they want it. Not so, here in Germany: the season has just begun. Usually it comes already shredded, in giant bags, but I managed to find some intact at the market. Next time I find some, I'm making ribollita, because ribbons of kale look so much prettier than shredded kale... especially running through a bowl of rich tomato soup with white beans. Mmm. Until then, however, I'm going to have to stick with less impressive presentations.

I'm not sure which variety of potatoes these are, because admittedly, I didn't bother reading the sign. I just asked the man at one of the potato stalls which potatoes would be good for mashing. Actually, I didn't ask that at all, because I don't know the verb for "mash". I asked about Kartoffel Puree instead. But the man directed me to a pile of very small, smooth potatoes, and I bought a kilo. I felt a little silly asking for a single kilo, when all of his other customers bought massive sacks of potatoes, but hey, I'm only one person, and I'm a person who likes eating a wide variety of vegetables every day. I just don't need many potatoes. Why would I, when I can eat pumpkin or mushrooms or feldsalat or tomatoes or celery? I need to save room for other vegetables, after all.

However, sometimes it's just comforting to dig into a big pot of mashed potatoes. They were my
favourite food when I was a child (pavlova and other sweet desserts excepted, of course) and while my tastes have changed considerably - definitely for the better- I still think they're a good option compared to certain other potato preparations. I'm looking at you, German potato salad. I'm also thinking about french fries, but I'm going to have to stop thinking about those... I may have a weakness for deep-fried foods, but if I'm going to stuff myself on something that unhealthy, I'm eating spring rolls instead. But with this mash, I kept the skins on the potatoes. That's healthy, right? ;)

Garlic Colcannon
600g mashing potatoes, cut into chunks
3 heads kale, stems finely chopped and leaves sliced (keep separate!)
4 large cloves garlic, chopped

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp vegan margarine (optional)

salt & pepper

Bring a large pot of water to the boil and cook the potatoes, 15-20minutes or until completely tender. How long they take relies on how large or small your chunks are, so keep that in mind. You could cook them whole, but I'm not that patient.
Mash to desired consistency - I like mine a little chunky sometimes. It depends on my mood.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pot/pan and sautee the garlic and kale stems until the stems are beginning to soften. Add the leaves and cook until they're tender - about 5 minutes if they're tough. Add a touch of water if needed.

When the kale is cooked to its desired texture (I like mine pretty well-cooked, which is completely different to how I like any other green vegetable) mix it through the mashed potato and season generously with salt and pepper.
Mix through some vegan margarine or a splash of extra olive oil if you like, to make it taste even better! If the mash gets too thick, just add a touch of water. I don't recommend adding soymilk to mashed potatoes because I find it leaves a noticeable aftertaste, so make all your texture adjustments using water.

Failing that, just eat the mash. Mmmm. ;)

Winter Greens Soup

I didn't get a chance to post yesterday, so here's today's Vegan Mofo post! It's extra-hearty to make up for yesterday's absence... ;)

Sorry about the picture. I'd already started eating by the time that I remembered that I was supposed to take a picture. Oops. That wasn't even the first bowl (which is why the colour isn't so bright any more)... I'm such a disgrace of a food blogger! Not that that phases me in any way, heh. Anyway, this soup is a really simple and really delicious way to use up leftover veg, or just get some more green vegetables into your life. Because I know you all need more green vegetables. Even those of you who are as addicted to them as I am. Not that it came easily for me: I had to coax myself onto greens, starting with garlic-fried choy sum, then working my way onto the slightly stronger bok choy, and then baby spinach leaves, still wilted with copious amounts of garlic. Broccoli was one of those vegetables I only used to like stir-fried and still crisp-tender, and it took some persuasion for me to accept it in other forms. Yet, thanks to a few over-zealous bushes of Cavolo Nero (Tuscan Cabbage) in my garden a few years ago, I'm onto the hard stuff. Kangkong, the whole Kale family, and whatever else I can get my hands on. Growing multi-coloured Silverbeet (Swiss Chard) probably didn't hurt, either. Give me my greens.

Of course, a common thread that links all of these green vegetables together is garlic. Whether they're sweet or bitter, tender or tough, greens love garlic. Good olive oil, a generous amount of chopped garlic, and some well-washed greens equals an amazing side dish. Sometimes I eat it over rice, or mixed into small pasta shapes, as a main course. And sometimes I make green things into soup. This soup is an easy way to use up leftover green vegetables, as well as those tough broccoli stems that you're too lazy to properly peel in order to get to the tender inner core. The garlic, which is ever-important here, has two roles to play: first, as a base for the veg, which get a quick sautee to bring out the flavour. Secondly, when I have time, I use the outer layers of my fresh garlic, parsley and basil stems, and the leftover celery twigs (not the thick stalks, but just the spindly parts at the top) to make a quick stock to add to the soup. I hate wasting vegetables, so stock is a good friend of mine. A small mashing potato makes the soup creamy without stealing the flavour. Rounded out with a handful of sweet frozen peas, this soup is warming and delicious.

Winter Greens Soup

1 stalk celery, chopped

2 cups chopped green veg (broccoli - especially the stems, kale, spinach, or even broccolini or asparagus, if you're feeling fancy!)

1/2 cup cubed potato (about 1 small potato)

1/2 cup frozen peas
2 large cloves garlic, chopped

1 2cm piece ginger, chopped

1 thai birdseye chilli, chopped

1/4 cup chopped parsley and basil (I used a mix)
3 cups stock

1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper + chilli flakes

Heat the olive oil in a pot and add the garlic, ginger and chilli, frying until fragrant. Add the celery, stirring to mix well, and cook for a minute longer. Add the greens (stems take longer than leaves, so take that into account if you like) and potato and sautee another minute.

Turn the heat down to medium and add the stock. Simmer until the vegetables are tender. Add the frozen peas, and allow to thaw - this should only take a minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and blend thoroughly until the soup is completely smooth, adding water to thin if desired. Add chilli flakes to taste, and to decorate.

Winter Greens Stock
1 generous handful of outer peelings of fresh garlic, or 2 cloves, sliced

1 cup celery twigs, roughly chopped, plus celery heart, chopped (optional)*
1 thai birdseye chilli, sliced in half lengthways

1 large stem fresh thyme
stems of parsley and basil

4 cups water

Put everything in a saucepan and cook on medium-high heat, about 20-15 minutes, and strain well.

* I know you can see a celery leaf in the stock photo. Sure, one leaf is fine. I was cutting up a whole head of celery, so I added the thin inner stems to my stock as well - just those that were too thin and insubstantial to make it into my fridge-supply of celery. I wouldn't recommend letting more than one or two leaves make it into your pot, however, because they can be incredibly bitter, especially the older (outer) leaves.While I'm confessing, I'll also add that I love cucumber peeled when I add it to salads, because the skins of cukes here seems really tough... so if I have some peel, I throw them into the soup at the blending stage. Why not? It doesn't affect the flavour, and it means that they don't go to waste. Plus it makes the colour even greener. I know, I'm crazy.

Garlic Kale

Today is the second day of the Vegan Month Of Food! I've been at Uni all morning, so here's one I prepared earlier...

Ok, if you share the same aesthetic sense as me, then chances are that you're going to conceed that the above plate isn't attractive. Especially not in the glowing yellow of my kitchen lightbulb, because it's pitch black until about 8am here. And you're completely right, it's not pretty. But it was so damn good that I ate a whole plate of garlic kale for breakfast, instead of using it in my not-so-Irish Colcannon. I used to get infuriated at all the blogs I read for waxing lyrical about the wonders of kale. It's not a wondrous vegetable. But actually, it is pretty damn tasty. So I forgive them for raving about a vegetable that I had no access to, because hey, look what's finally in season! Curly Kale.

Above is how a bunch of kale looks normally. It'll never form a head in the way that cabbage will, but it does conveniently arrange its leaves on the stem so that you can easily pull them off and remove the centre rib. It has tough, fibrous stems and beautful curly leaves, which tend to be quite tough and require longer cooking than most greens. The above bunch went into a ribollita, which I don't have photos of (this was before Vegan Mofo started, so I wasn't photographing everything religiously) but I'm definitely going to make it again soon so that I can share the recipe. It was pretty memorable.

This is how most kale I see at the markets tends to be packaged. See that? It's pre-shredded. It's pretty finely shredded too, which doesn't make for a pretty ribbolita - I like to have ribbons of kale in my soup. However, it's incredibly useful for all of the other dishes that I like to make with kale, so there's no complaints here. I quite enjoy having other people do the hard work for me, even if the hard work is probably just them throwing heads of kale into a wood chipper. ;)

That lovely purple garlic is the best friend of kale. Not only because it's so fresh that the skins haven't dried out, but also because they go together like (vegan) bangers and mash. Sure, they're fine separately, but put them together and you're onto something special. I like to use this mix as the base of other dishes - it can be added to soups, like Winter Greens or Ribollita, or kept refrigerated and used as a side dish. I recommend it as a nice contrast to creamy vegetables like pumpkin and potatoes.

It's also a good way to fight a cold. When you consider that green vegetables are so high in vitamins, and antioxidants, and all those other 'superfoods' that womens' trashy magazines like to rave on about, then you'd probably be easily convinced that they're good for you. However, to hell with all of that: when you just consider that they taste good, and that they're easy to make, then you've got reason enough.

Garlic Kale
1 bag (about 500g?) shredded kale, washed and well-drained
3 giant cloves fresh garlic (or 6 cloves of the conventional kind)
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Warm the olive oil over medium heat and add the garlic, stirring constantly so that it turns transparent but not brown. Add the kale, stirring to get the garlic evenly distributed.

Allow to cook for 5-10 minutes, until kale is bright green, but doesn't retain too much bite. Sample a little every minute until the texture is to your liking.

Season generously with salt and pepper, or if you like a little umami hit, sprinkle with a tiny bit of vegetable stock.

Soybean and Pumpkin.

It's been a while between posts, firstly because I was travelling and then because Blogger decided to eat a restaurant review post that I was working on. It had a lot of photos, so needless to say, I had a vendetta against Blogger recently, and decided that I couldn't be bothered re-writing it. I suppose I'll get around to it one day... albeit with less photos, just in case. So, what have I been eating lately? Well, after getting back on Sunday, and going back to uni the next day, I've been living off of a lot of pantry staples. And freezer staples, in this case. Because I know that all of you keep frozen soyabeans on hand, stocked up from when the Asian grocery has them... ;)

Frozen soyabeans are fantastic. Edamame aside, (there's a phrase I never thought I'd say! I could live on edamame), these beans don't suffer at all for their time in a freezer. They have a firm texture, a light and almost nutty flavour, and they go nicely with some other household staples - rice, pumpkin (yes, these sit in my pantry for months), garlic, ginger, pickled cabbage (you mean you don't keep a small tin of pickled asian cabbage in your pantry?!) and thai birdseye chillies, which are another favourite that get kept in the freezer.

Mmm, steamy goodness. Can you tell that I was impatient to eat? I certainly couldn't be bothered taking a proper photo. Can I ever? Hm, debatable! Anyway, this dish is a variation on the beloved BBC - Broadbean Bean Curd, served at a couple of great Chinese restaurants in Adelaide. I recommend the one from Wah Hing - they have great service (especially if you have Susannah, who owns the place - she's a dynamo!) and large portions for a very moderate price. East Taste make the same dish, but you'll pay for the tiniest portion, and the service is lacking. I won't go back there since the occasion when my dining partner and I left, still quite hungry, after ordering entrees, three main courses, and rice. We were brutally ripped off - we should have been carrying home leftovers, and instead we were too depressed to bother going to eat at another restaurant. So, restaurant-bashing aside, the original dish has thin strips of marinated tofu - impossible to find here. It also doesn't have pumpkin, but there's something about the sweetness, contrasting the chilli and pickle, that I like here - it also binds the dish together just a little, which makes it easier to eat. ;) I added mushrooms, simply because I had some in the fridge, but they added a nice textural contrast to replace the missing tofu.

Too hungry to even tidy up the plate.

BBP - Broad bean Pumpkin ;)
500g bag frozen soybeans (not edamame - buy the ones with the pods removed!)

200g (?) can of asian-style pickled cabbage/wombok, drained, rinsed and chopped*

250g mushrooms, sliced OR 1 packet marinated tofu, thinly sliced*

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped / crushed

5cm piece ginger, finely chopped

5 brutally hot chillies, finely sliced (ok, they don't need to be brutal, but it makes it better!)

1 & 1/2 cups cooked pumpkin, cut into cm cubes.*

3-4 Tbsp soy sauce

siracha, to taste

Start by sauteeing ginger, chilli and garlic in a little oil, until fragrant. If you're not choking from the chilli fumes, add more chilli.

Add the mushrooms (if using) to the mix, stirring well, and allow to sautee for a minute, until it no longer looks raw.

Add the soybeans, breaking up any frozen chunks. You don't want cold soybeans in your dinner! You'll know when they're nearly cooked because the skins start to wrinkle.

When the skins are looking a little wrinkly, add the cooked pumpkin, soy sauce (add more if you like extra-salty) and chinese pickle. Stir to combine - you want to continue cooking this on a high heat to allow the moisture from the soy to evaporate, and you want to just heat up the pumpkin and pickle.

When it's thoroughly warm, serve over rice, and drizzle with siracha - if you dare.

* Quite different to European-style pickled cabbage. You'll need to obtain this, and most likely the soyabeans, from an Asian Supermarket.
* The marinated tofu should be the square pieces that get used as burgers, etc. They're also available in Asian supermarkets - I recommend the 'spicy' flavour. They come in a small packet with three square sheets of tofu.

* I cheated and used hokkaido, which doesn't need to be peeled. Plus the colour is pretty! Mine was leftover from making another dish, but if yours isn't cooked, just add it when you add the mushrooms.

Spicy Vegetable Stew.

I'm quite pleased to say that I just ate a bowl of this, and I'm now onto my second. But, being me, I have to admit that it wasn't perfect: the pumpkin that I used had a strange aftertaste that I'd never encountered before. That was half the reason why I made this dish: to hide the pumpkin in a mix of other flavours. Anyone else eating this wouldn't know that it was there, but of course I know, so I'm on the lookout for it. Sigh. Either way, I did a pretty good job of disguising my lack of pumpkin quality, despite never having encountered this in an Australian pumpkin. Maybe it's the climate? I'd be pretty annoyed too, if I needed sunlight to grow, and these awful grey and drizzly days were all I was getting. Wait, I am annoyed about it.

So, pumpkins aside (or under my bed, where I'm beginning to hoarde them in large quantities), this is a reliable stew to fall back on when you're under the weather, or worse, when the weather is under 15 degrees. It's easy, it can be made in a slow cooker, or if you're hungry, you just simmer it a little faster. I think you can guess which boat I was in! I served this with soft polenta, through which I mixed a touch of salt and a handful of chopped herbs. This stew also gets along swimmingly with couscous or rice, or just a giant hunk of crusty bread to mop up the sauce. Better yet, you can do that, and then you can lick the bowl.

This stew can be made with whichever vegetables you like. Usually I'll add some cubes of fried eggplant, but it's not the sort of effort I was prepared to go to. Today's batch had lots of brown mushrooms, zucchini, and the rest of the pumpkin I'd roasted the day before. Add the pumpkin with the zucchini, even though it's not added in the photos below. Do as I say, not as I do! I made a huge batch, so that I can eat warm food at every meal, in an attempt to lift my spirits. Still, even in the warm kitchen, I can look out the window and see that I had no real summer. I feel ripped off by this country and its weather. Today, I only needed the flavours of Morocco to lift my spirits.

Comfort foods are always a nice consolation, and this dish is comforting. This stew is based on tomatoes, sure, but it differs from its Italian counterparts by the use of cumin and cinnamon. I've often made it without the cinnamon, and it's equally delicious. You can throw it together in a cinch - I made it today without sauteeing the veg, simply because I was starved. Sauteeing the onion and garlic does bring out that nice, caramelised goodness, so I'd probably advise that you're not as slack as I am today. Do as I say, not as I do! I'll use my upcoming German exam as an excuse.

You can see from the above photo that I used passata instead of real tomatoes. There was a bottle of organic passata sitting in my pantry, and I figured that now was the time to use it, rather than buying tomatoes from Marktkauf (and, therefore, from Spain. Sorry, Spanish economy.) I've also used chopped tomatoes, tinned tomatoes, and frozen tomatoes. Anything goes, provided it's a tomato in some form or other. If you use fresh tomatoes that need a little extra richness after cooking down, add a splash of balsamic vinegar, or a few tablespoons of tomato paste. I've also snuck a teaspoon of stock powder into my stew on occasion, when my tomatoes were of the general supermarket variety. To thicken, today I've used red lentils, but when I'm not so hungry, I just let it cook down by itself. I made a huge pot, a "community stew" of sorts. Halve the recipe if you have a smaller appetite than I do. (I'm pretty sure that you do.) We'll see if mine lasts longer than a day...

Spicy Vegetable Stew

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or crushed

2 small onions, finely chopped

500g mushrooms, quartered (if small - otherwise in 1/6ths or 1/8ths)

1kg zucchini, in large cubes

1 kg pumpkin, in large cubes

3/4tsp cumin powder

1/3 tsp cinnamon powder

1 tsp chilli powder

2 tsp black pepper, ground

1 tbsp fresh chilli paste (siracha or kecap manis is fine)

1 tsp salt

750g passata / 2 tins tomatoes / 1kg fresh tomatoes, diced
1 bunch fresh herbs, chopped (I usually use parsley - today I also used basil, but usually I add a few leaves of mint)
olive oil

In olive oil, sautee the garlic and onion until golden and fragrant. Add the mushrooms, and let them sautee for a few minutes.

Add the vegetables, stirring to mix, and then add the fresh chilli paste. Allow to cook for a few minutes more, until the vegetables are slightly softened.

Add the tomatoes and spices, plus any extra water that you need so that the vegetables are just barely covered by the liquid. I needed about a cup.

Simmer, uncovered, for as long as you dare, adding water as needed, to stop the sauce from catching on the bottom of the pot. If you're in a hurry, just simmer until the vegetables are tender - about 15 minutes. The longer and slower this cooks, the better the tomatoes will be.

When you can't stand the amazing smell in your kitchen any longer, and simply must have a bowl, throw in the herbs and serve yourself as much as you can fit in your bowl. Then go back for seconds. ;)

*I added 1 cup of red lentils to this, partly because I love them, and partly because they're great at thickening rustic sauces. I usually add a tin of chickpeas, but alas, none in the pantry.