Vegan creamy mushroom soup and Warm Stewed Veggies Rice

How's your Christmas Eve???

I'm having a good one since I made a delicious and simple vegan meal for my fiance and I~!!! 

You cannot imagine how happy I am. I really miss eating vegetables. I've been eating oatmeal these days out of plain laziness. 

Sharing my recipes with you~~ ^^ It's quite a last minute kind of meal. I just added all the vegetables I was craving for for the rice. You can just use any vegetables you like. Yum~! 

Vegan Creamy Mushroom Soup

Ingredients (serves 2):

- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small potato, diced
- 1 celery stalk, diced
- 250ml vegetable stock
- dried basil, to taste
- 1 teaspoon vegan butter/margarine
- 6 pieces of 2 different kinds of mushrooms (any kind of mushroom you want. I used shiitake and crimini.), cleaned and diced
- 120g canned cannellini white beans, drained and rinsed
- salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- nutritional yeast, to taste (optional)
- chopped fresh parsley for garnish

1. In a small soup pot, heat oil. Over medium heat, add in onions and garlic. Saute until golden.

2. Add potato, celery, vegetable stock and dried basil. Bring to a gentle boil. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.

3. Add the white beans to the soup. Puree the soup in a food processor till smooth.

4. In a small frying pan, heat up oil and stir-fry mushrooms for about 8 minutes till fragrant.

5. Add mushrooms into soup.

6. Add salt, black pepper and nutritional yeast into soup to taste.

7. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Warm Stewed Veggies Rice

Ingredients (serves 2~3):

- 1 cup of rice with water
- 1 piece of small ginger, peeled and sliced into half
- 2 teaspoons of oil
- 1/2 onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 50g cabbage, shredded
- 1/2 carrot, diced
- 1/2 zucchini, sliced
- 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
- water, if needed
- salt, to taste
- red pepper flakes, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

- 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

- golden raisins and fresh parsley, for garnish

1. In rice cooker, cook rice with ginger.

2. In a small soup pot, heat oil over medium flame. Add onions and garlic and saute until golden.

3. Stir in vegetables in this order: cabbage, carrot, zucchini, and green pepper. Bring vegetables to a simmer and cover with a lid. Stir occasionally, adding in water, a teaspoon at a time if they turn too dry or look like they will burn. The vegetables should be crisp, not soggy.

4. Add in the cooked rice. Season with salt, turmeric powder, red pepper flakes, ground cumin, ground coriander. Stir evenly.

5. Serve and garnish with raisins and minced fresh parsley.

Colourful Raw Cold Noodles with Dipping Sauce!

I have other recipes awaiting but I can't wait to share this really simple dish with you.

By the way, I realised pictures in my older entries are all gone. My pictures all link to the Facebook page, and it's a glitch or something. I don't think they will ever come back on ever. Facebook never replies, ever. I'm still linking my pictures from Facebook though just because it's convenient. Sigh! 

Ok let's hope some miracle happens.

Yesterday was a blistering hot day and my body was craving for something cool and filling. I brought out all the vegetables and fruits I could find in my fridge and made this dish. Really, there aren't any specifics about the quantity of the vegetables you can top the noodles with. Here are what I used though:

Main noodle dish:

- Konnyaku noodles (you don't have to cook them!)

- Corn (Just cut them out with a knife from the cob)

- Japanese zucchini (julienne it. I used about 1/3 of a whole piece)

- Carrot (I peeled the skin and julienned it. About 1/2 a carrot)

- Strawberries (I just chopped 3 berries up)

- Dou Miao (I just grabbed a handful)

I used organic veggies and strawberries for this dish. They just happened to be organic as I went to an organic supermarket just the day before and bought all the organic stuff they had that were on sale! Such a great steal! I have no idea why they were on sale as they all looked fresh and great! 

The critical ingredient for this dish is the dipping sauce, so here I'll share the recipe for my dipping sauce! ^^

Dipping sauce:

- 225ml of Tamari Sauce/ Soy Sauce/ Soba Sauce / Kombu Dashi Stock* (recommended!!! ^^)

- 25ml of Apple Cider Vinegar

- drizzle of Sesame Oil

- some Brown Sugar to taste 

I made some kombu dashi stock during the weekend and it can be stored in the fridge for about 3 days. There are lots of ways to make dashi stock. I will just post some links here. 

To make Kombu Dashi:

From Lettuce Cook.

From Savory Japan.

Very easy to make and it gives your food a Japanese taste. ^^

I hope you like this dish!

Creamy Chai Coconut Shake

I live in a tropical country with summer all year round. Despite that, I only got to know how delicious coconut water was only last year!

Coconut water is really refreshing from the fridge. It's the best thing on Earth on a hot summer day!

In fact, my raw foodie friend only drinks coconut water! She doesn't even drink normal boiled water!! Every morning, her mum would crack open a few coconuts and pour the delicious drink into recycled glass bottles and just store them in the fridge for drinking.

Because coconut water is so delicious, I decided to make a shake based on it! :D And of course, my favourite Chai spice shall be the star!!!

I added coconut flesh to make it creamy. If you blend coconut flesh, you will get coconut milk (with some chewable bits though. If you want it smooth, just pour through a filter), so it's really fragrant!

This recipe makes 2 creamy shakes so you can share it with your friend, or just have it both by yourself! ^^

Ingredients (Makes 2 creamy shakes):

- 400ml young Thai coconut water
- 40g young Thai coconut meat
- 20g agave nectar / maple syrup / honey
- 2 teaspoons chai spice mix
- 2 teaspoon soy lecithin powder/ soymilk powder / 100ml unsweetened soymilk *if using sweetened soymilk, you may omit or reduce agave nectar
- 1 cup ice cubes
- cinnamon/nutmeg powder for garnish

1. Place all the ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend until smooth. You can add more chai spice or sweetener according to your own taste.

2. Sprinkle cinnamon powder over this refreshing creamy drink!

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Creamy Vegan Pasta Salad

Ahh...it's already October!

Time flies! ^^"

I'm sorry that in September, I only posted one recipe.

Today, I'm going to teach you to make a delicious Pasta Salad!!

I forgot when I made this... It's some time in July or August. My boyfriend and I brought my favourite nephew to the zoo!!! So I packed lunches for all 3 of us~! ^^

Those are awesome Kyoho grapes!!!

Ingredients (serves 3~4):

- about 1/3 packet of frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, corn), defroze

- 1 packet of your favourite pasta

- 1 block tofu, cut into 6 pieces + 1 tsp turmeric powder

- 2 teaspoons olive oil

- 1 Japanese cucumber/ zucchini, chopped into bite-sized pieces

- 8 tablespoons soy mayonnaise

- 4 tablespoons raw sugar

- salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large pot of water, bring it to a boil over big flame. When water is boiling, throw in the mixed vegetables. Cook them for about 3 minutes and take them out with a small metal stainless steel strainer. Set aside.

2. In the same pot of water (you may have to add in more water. see pasta package's instructions), add in 4 tbsp of salt. Cook pasta according to package's instructions.

3. Drain pasta and set aside. You may drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over pasta so that they don't stick together while cooling.

4. In a medium-sized glass bowl, toss tofu with turmeric powder. Use a glass bowl because turmeric is quite hard to wash from plastic bowls! 

5. In a small frying pan, heat olive oil over a small-medium flame for about 2 minutes. Throw in tofu mixture, scrambling it for about 1 minute. Turn off flame. 

6. In a big bowl, make dressing by combining mayonnaise and sugar. Toss in pasta. Toss well. 

7. Mix in all the vegetables (including zucchini and tofu) evenly. 

8. Add salt and pepper to taste and mix evenly.

And you're done!!! 

This is really an easy dish to make, and like all pasta dishes, it impresses. The recipe is versatile too. Feel free to throw in any vegetables or meat you like. It's very delicious. I usually serve it cold.

I first learned of Pasta Salad when I went to Australia to stay with my best friend for awhile. She organised a trip to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and very nicely said she would make us lunch and we would eat it over there!

Till this day, her pasta salad still remains the best pasta salad I've ever eaten. My version will always be in 2nd place. Haha! Sometimes it's the fond times that make some food seem so spectacular in memory. Unbeatable. When I made this for our zoo outing, I wanted my nephew and boyfriend to have fond memories of our trip together too!

In the end, it's my boyfriend's sweet surprise that I cannot forget. He produced a Kinder Surprise chocolate egg for my nephew and I. Ok, my weak spot is guys being nice to kids, so yea, I cannot forget that. Haha!

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Vegetarian Laksa~! ^^

My boyfriend loves Laksa so much, and I thought, as a good girlfriend, I should try and learn how to make it! How difficult could it be right?

As I've sort of made a promise to be a vegan for a month, this recipe is vegan/vegetarian. For all you meat-eaters roaring displeasure, I'm sorry! The vegetarian version is delicious still! It may not be as fragrant as I've omitted dried shrimps, but I substituted chopped mushrooms instead. Stir-fried mushrooms are really fragrant too, right? Haha!

Don't let the amount of ingredients scare you. Most of them are easily found!

Warning: Wear gloves when handling chilli. The seeds burn into your hands and your hands will feel like it's constantly on fire. It's a miserable feeling. If you have chilli burn, prepare a bowl and some salt. Rub your burning hands or finger with salt. Rub THOROUGHLY, until burning sensation is gone. Wash with water. I've tried all other methods: alcohol, mayonnaise, milk, cucumber...goodness gracious. Salt is the only one that worked.

Ingredients (serves 3~4):

Noodles:

- you can choose any noodles you like. I chose beehoon (rice noodles). You can even serve it with rice if you want to.

Laksa Paste:
- 50g garlic, chopped
- 50g shallots, chopped
- 1 slice ginger, coarsely chopped
- 50g dried chilli, sliced, seeds removed, soaked in hot water
- 1 tablespoon vegetarian belachan chilli
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder (optional)
- 2 tablespoons of water/ 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, for easy blending

Broth:
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 1 cup coconut milk/coconut cream
- Laksa paste (see above)
- Lemongrass stem, crushed (optional)
- 4 tablespoons salt
- 4 tablespoons sugar

Toppings:
- Shiitake Mushrooms
- Tau Pok (Tofu Puffs)
- Beansprouts
- Laksa Leaves or Basil Leaves, ground finely
- anything else you like. :) For non-vegetarians, you can try fishcake, egg, etc. :)

1. Soak Beehoon in water to soften it.

2. Put all the ingredients in Laksa Paste into the blender and blend it to a nice consistency.

3. In a nonstick pan, fry Laksa paste over medium heat.

4. In a pot, bring vegetable stock to a boil. You can use chicken stock if you are not a vegan/vegetarian.

5. Turn to medium heat. Add in Laksa Paste and Lemongrass stem. Stir the broth.

6. Add coconut milk/cream. Add salt and sugar to taste.

7. Add all the toppings you want into your broth (except beansprouts and Laksa/basil leaves). Let broth simmer for 5 minutes under low heat.

If using mushrooms, fry the first before adding into the soup.

8. Pour away soaking water for Beehoon. In another pot, cook beehoon.

9. Drain beehoon. Serve in a bowl and put some beansprouts on it.

10. Pour broth over your noodles with toppings on top. Sprinkle Laksa leaves/ Basil leaves on top as a beautiful garnish.

Verdict: My boyfriend insisted that once I'm off my vegan diet, we should try to make the Laksa Paste with fried haebee (tiny dried shrimps) to make it really fragrant. This was super spicy because of the belachan chilli I bought... -__-" It was just a sweating good time eating this, but yea, I do agree with my boyfriend that the broth could be more fragrant. For anyone who has made Vegetarian Laksa before, any suggestions to make my recipe better??

Special thanks to my friend, Evelyn, who helped me a lot in my Laksa-cooking adventure. She gave me her grandmother's recipe and I modified it to make it vegan-friendly.

Will you try this???  Hehe! It's impressive, don't you think? The ingredients are easily found in vegetarian stores and markets.

Where to Buy:

- Vegetarian Belachan Chilli

This is what I used. I bought it in a Chinese vegetarian shop downstairs where I live. Most of these ingredients (beehoon, tofu puffs, dried chilli, coconut milk etc) can be bought in Chinese vegetarian shops. This little jar of spice is only S$3.40.

Mushroom Aglio Olio

Aglio Olio.

It sounds so fancy and impressive, is delicious, and the best of all, it's extremely easy and fast to make.

So, if you're thinking of whipping up a quick dinner for your friends or your family, or your boyfriend's family (haha!), why don't you try this easy recipe?

There are so many kinds of aglio olio you can make. The name literally means 'garlic and oil' in Italian. So to keep it authentic, I guess you just need to flavour your olive oil with garlic by some light stir-frying in the pan for a few minutes before adding whatever you want to your pasta dish. ^^

The family was really hungry when I got home from work. It was a lazy rainy evening. My mum was really tired and had no inspiration to cook that night. My brother was hungry but did not feel like eating out. I was actually feeling a little lazy, but I had this urge to cook for my family. It was getting really late though, so I wanted to make something quick yet something different and special for a change. So, mushroom aglio olio it was~! ^^ Here are the ingredients!

Ingredients (Makes 3~4 servings):

- 232g elbow macaroni
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
- 100g mushrooms, washed and sliced (I used shiitake because those were the only shrooms I could find in my fridge. Feel free to use any other mushrooms you like. ^^)
- 3 dried chillies, milled coarsely, or 1tbsp of chilli flakes (optional)
- 40g fresh parsley, milled coarsely, or 1 tbsp of parsley flakes (optional)
- sea salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
- juice of 1/2 a lemon (optional)

1. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to instructions on package. Drain and set aside pasta in a large pot/bowl. Reserve a small cup of pasta water.

2. In a medium-sized saucepan over a medium flame, heat olive oil. Add garlic and chilli flakes. Saute for about 3 minutes until garlic turns a light golden brown. Add mushrooms. Saute for about 6~8minutes.

3. When there is a lovely fragrance, turn off the stove. Be careful not to burn your garlic~

4. Pour all ingredients in the pan to the pot/bowl of pasta. Toss pasta in this oily mixture. Add parsley flakes. Toss some more. Add sea salt and pepper to taste. Toss some more. Drizzle more olive oil if you find your pasta too dry.

5. Garnish with a fresh stalk of parsley. Beautiful! You may drizzle some lemon juice over your pasta too just to give it an extra oomph. :)

Easy isn't it? My family polished everything off and raved about it. Totally worth it~! ^^

Enjoy~!!