Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Winter warmers... in summer

Again it is freezing in johannesburg, an unpleasant reminder of how much the climate is changing. The way the summer in Johannesburg is supposed to work is that it is ludicrously hot during the day and at about four in the afternoon dark clouds gather and by six there are spectacular electrical storms. This summer we have been having rain all day for sometimes a whole week and it is cold miserable London style rain which we don't usually experience. Our rainy season is from August until March, this year it we had rain well into June (this cold rain) and this summer's rain only started late October. Anyway here are two recipes to keep you warm.

Judith's Lentil Curry

750g green/brown lentils
750ml coconut milk
100ml lime/lemon juice
1 tbsp lime rind, grated
4 big onions - cut into boats
6 red chillies - finely chopped
4 tbsp chopped garlic
3 x 2.5cm ginger - peeled and grated
15 cardamom pods - crushed
10 tsp cumin seeds
10 tsp fennel seeds
sunflower oil
10 tsp turmeric
3 tsp sea salt
8 tsp fenugreek powder
a little vegtable stock - about 100ml to 250ml

Cook the lentils until firm and set aside (ignore if using tins)
Slice the onion into boat shapes
Heat the pot (no oil) and add cardamom, cumin, fennel. dry roast for 2 - 3 minutes and remove from heat. Allow to cool and crush in the pestle and mortar.
Place oil into the pot - heat
Add the onions and fry until brown and dark on edges
Turn the heat down
Add the chilli (optional), garlic, ginger and lime zest and stir
Add the tumeric and fenugreek
Add the crushed dry roasted spices
Stir everything together and add in lentils
Add the cocunut milk and stock
Simmer for about 45 minutes until sauce thickens
I saw this Calorie Count article about the goodness of lentils
Split Pea Soup
2 Large carrots sliced
1 Yellow onion chopped
Olive oil for frying
500g dried green split peas
500ml vegatable stock
Worcestershire sauce (look out for anchovies in some brands)
Soy sauce
Lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Fry the onion and carrots in the olive oil until soft, add the stock and peas, simmer for 1 hour, blend until smooth, add lemon juice, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste. I would add liquid smoke if it were available here...

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

The ONLY way to make potato salad

I don't care whether you are vegan/ veg or death eating this is the best potato salad.

Potato Salad

Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic minced
1 tsp rock salt milled
1 heaped teaspoon dijon mustard
4 tbs olive oil
A couple of grinds of black pepper
2 tbs chopped dill
1 small red onion choped
2 stalks celery chopped
1kg new potatos washed and boiled with the skins on

It is important to add the dressing to the potatoes while they are still hot so make up the vinegarette while they are cooking and add it as soon as you have drained the potatoes. To make vinegarette whisk together the garlic, salt, lemon juice and zest, mustard, olive oil and pepper. Once you have coated the hot potatoes with the dressing stir through the onion, dill and celery. Do not refrigerate the salad it should be eaten while still warm or at room temperature.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Vegans make the best salads (duh).

We had such spectacular weather on saturday it was impossible not to take part in South Africa's favourite past time braaing (or barbecueing as the rest of the world say).One may think this is not a very vegan activity but it is an excuse to eat processed soy (vegan junk food), garlic bread (properly chosen) and loads of salads. On the processed soy front I have to make a special mention of Fry's products without whom I would be lost on the braai front. I often go to braais where the death eaters scoff at my lack of blood and gore yet I never have leftovers to take home. On the garlic bread front Pick 'n Pay Garlic and Onion Braai Breads are made with margarine, not butter and are delicious.

Salads of course are vegan haven. I have noticed that death eaters and ovo/lacto vegetarians are in a major salad rut. It seems as long as the salad has feta in it, it must be fantastic. Look, I am not inhuman, I like danish feta as much as the next person (other than my obvious ethical objections) but it is getting to the stage where on e can put danish feta on lettuce and call it a salad. This applies to green salads, all other salads may contain any item drenched in mayonaise. This means that mayonaise coated cardboard may reasonably be called cardboard salad. There are so many glorious things to put in a salad but nonvegans are so reliant on dairy and eggs for flavour that so many good foods get forgotten.

My Favourite Green Salad
Salad leaves (these should at a bare minimum include rocket and baby spinach)
Cherry tomatoes
Baby mealies (corn)
Snap peas
Croutons (yes I know they are deep fried white bread)
Pimento stuffed green olives
Pumpkin seeds
Baby carrots
Avo
Gherkins (pickles)

Other yummy things to put in green salad include nuts, herbs, sweet bell peppers, sundried tomatoes, lightly steamed green beans or asparagus and roasted brinjal. I don't have any amazing recipes for dressing I really just enjoy good old balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Tomorrow I will post the only way to make potato salad, whether you are vegan or not! Remember it is Raw food Monday!

An appeal

This is not necessarily a vegan related post but it is a very important one and I figure I may as well use the international audience I have thanks to Vegan MoFo to make a very worthy appeal. I am running my first Comrades Marathon next year on the 29th of May. The race is 89km (56 miles) and is being run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg. I am using this oppurtunity to raise funds for The Starfish Foundation, who help children in Southern Africa who have been affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. I am aiming to raise R5000 (approximately $800). The donation process is run by an external organisation called Race 4 Charity. Even small donations will be of help.

If you would like more info on The Starfish foundation
http://www.starfishcharity.org/home.aspx?id_content=1

If you would like more info on Comrades:
http://www.comrades.com/

If you would like to donate:
http://www.race4charity.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=53
All the information you need is under How to Donate. My profile is listed as Helen Susannah Letseka.

If you know anyone who might be interested in helping please pass this along to them.

Thank You!

Friday, November 12, 2010

Mama Hellsbells Shebeen


As promised I am writing about my shebeen themed dinner of last night. Although Wikipedia swears that the word shebeen is used in many parts of the world, I have never heard it used in common speech anywhere other than South Africa so this whole post may be lost on my international viewers, but I will try to keep you informed. A shebeen is an informal (and usually illegal) bar set up in townships in south Africa to accommodate the residents there who were not allowed into "whites only" bars and clubs during apartheid. A shebeen is usually housed in a shack and decor and crockery are usually made from whatever can be found.

Bunny chow also originates from the apartheid era (or the apartheid error as I prefer calling it) when non-europeans workers were not allowed to be served their lunches on plates but were rather given them in a "bowl" made of hollowed out bread. Bunny chow is usually made from quarter or half loaves of bread. This is the only time that I will advocate the use of white bread. Bunny chows in brown bread are just not nice.



The bunny chows we made are probably the most unhealthy things I have ever cooked for guests, but one has to live a little. So called bunnies can be made in one of two ways, either the inside of the bread can be removed and put back on top of filling or the inside can just be squished down, which is what we did. Bunnies are most popular with the Indian community in South Africa and as such are traditionally filled with curry. I made this curry as a filling along with slap chips (french fries which are thick cut and and soggy).

Bunny Chow Curry
1 tin Indian Style tomatoes
1 tin curried vegetables
1 tin tomato, onion and chili mix
1 packet tomato and onion soy mince (200g)
200g spinach washed, destalked and torn

Put all the ingredients in a pot and cover with boiling water. Simmer for twenty minutes.

We had Snoek and Atchar Simba chips for starters and watermelon for dessert. It was quite nice to find old school glass Coke bottles at the local bottle store and of course all beer was served in quarts. A friend tried a twist on the Catemba (Coke and red wine) by drinking red wine and Fanta Grape. It was awful and I wouldn't recommend it!

I really wanted to post more pictures, but trust me you have never known true pain until you have experienced the speed of internet at South African educational institutions. I will try to edit them in later.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Shebeen dinner.

I was having six friends over tonight (all death eaters) and I was not sure what to make. I wanted something cheap and easy but still good enough for guests. Eventually I decided that bunny chow would be novel. On the way home I had the idea to make the whole dinner a Shebeen theme. I rustled up the whole thing from the food to the decor in less than an hour. It was a complete success! Check out my blog tomorrow for recipes and photos.

Other people's summer recipes

These recipes are not my own I have found them on other non-vegan sites. I want to share them with you all because they look delicious and often as vegans we don't peruse nonvegan magazines for food. Here in South Africa I love Pick 'n Pay's food mag Simply Fresh they often have veg dishes or ones which can easily be veganized through substitution. For those of you in the US and Europe these summer dishes may not be appropriate because you are heading into winter now. You can always turn up the heating and pretend that its summer. Even better come to South Africa for a visit, where we have the best summers in the world!

Mixed Berries With Champagne and Tarragon (From Womens Health SA)

Finely chop a teaspoon or two of fresh tarragon. Toss about four cups of rinsed mixed berries (raspberries, mulberries, strawberries, gooseberries) with a few tablespoons of sugar, a cup or so of sparkling wine and the tarragon. Let the mixture sit for about five minutes (longer if you have time) and serve in small bowls with your favourite sugar biscuit.




Red Kidney Bean and Mango Salad (Womens health SA)

Rinse and drain a can of red kidney beans and combine with a diced mango, a chopped red bell or small salad pepper, two or three chopped spring onions and some minced fresh chillies. Drizzle with olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper. Toss with fresh chopped mint or coriander.

Poached Tofu with Broccoli (Womens Health SA)

Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add salt and then lower in a brick of firm tofu; cook until it just begins to float (five to 10 minutes). Meanwhile, whisk together equal parts soy sauce, sake, lemon and orange juice, and water with a little sugar and a few drops of sesame oil. Break a head of broccoli into florets. When you remove the tofu, plunge the broccoli into the pot; count to 20 and drain. Serve thick slices of tofu with the florets, drizzling the dressing over all

Padma Lakshmi's Comforting Lemonade Serves 4–6

Oh, how a gentle breeze runs through my hair and kicks up my petticoat as I sit in the swing on my imaginary wraparound porch. I am at times a frustrated Southern Belle in the most American sense of the word. Mind you, gals from South India are a whole ’nother bag, but I digress. This is a joyous way to enjoy a spiked lemonade on a hot summer evening. Be careful not to fall off your swing, as this tends to be a common side effect of gulping down one too many tall glasses of this tawny potation.
4 tablespoons sugar
1⁄2 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
juice of 1 lime
1 cup whole cherries, halved and pitted
3 or 4 mint leaves, torn into bits
1 1⁄2 cups Southern Comfort whiskey
1. Warm 2 cups of water over medium-low heat and mix in the sugar, dissolving it completely.
2. In a pitcher, place—in this order—the lemon and lime juices, the sugar water, 4 cups of water, the cherries, the mint leaves, 1 cup of ice, and finally the whiskey. Stir. Serve immediately.
From Tangy Tart Hot & Sweet by Padma Lakshmi (Weinstein Books). Available now at Amazon.com.


Quinoa Salad with Beets (Oprah Magazine)
1 1/4 cup(s) quinoa
1 1/8 teaspoon(s) salt, plus more for dressing
4 medium beets, trimmed
2 tablespoon(s) balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon(s) lemon juice
Freshly ground pepper, for dressing
3 tablespoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 large seedless cucumber, chopped
1 pint(s) yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup(s) green beans, blanched and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup(s) chopped flat-leaf parsley

Rinse quinoa thoroughly. Place in a medium saucepan with 2 1/2 cups water. Add 1/8 teaspoon salt; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook until quinoa is tender, 12-15 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours.

Meanwhile, place beets in a large saucepan; cover with cold water (by about an inch). Add 1 teaspoon salt; bring to a simmer. Cook until beets are tender when pierced with a paring knife, 35-45 minutes. Drain; cover with cold water. Let sit until cool enough to handle. Peel and cut into 1/2-inch cubes.

In a small bowl, mix vinegar, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Slowly whisk in oil. In a large bowl, combine quinoa, beets, cucumber, tomatoes, green beans, and parsley. Toss in dressing to serve.




Chickpea, Carrot, and Olive Salad with Cumin Vinaigrette (From Oprah Magazine)

1 1/2 teaspoon(s) cumin seeds
3 tablespoon(s) sherry vinegar
1/2 cup(s) extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 can(s) (15-ounce) chickpeas, rinsed well and drained
2 cup(s) julienned carrot
1/2 cup(s) finely chopped celery
3/4 cup(s) pitted black olives, halved
1/2 cup(s) raisins
2 tablespoon(s) finely chopped fresh chives
1/2 cup(s) cilantro leaves
To make vinaigrette: In a small pan, toast cumin seeds over medium heat for about 1 minute, shaking pan so seeds do not burn. Transfer to a cutting board and coarsely chop seeds, then place in a small bowl. Add vinegar and then oil in a slow stream, whisking until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To make salad: Combine chickpeas, carrot, celery, olives, raisins, chives, and cilantro in a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup vinaigrette and mix well to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.