Rice Vermicelli Bowl.

If everyone could grasp the difference between Rice Vermicelli bowls & Phở, I would be the happiest gal in town. Whilst doing so, make this rice vermicelli bowl. It's really very good.

Ingredients for sauce

3 tbsp hot water

2 tbsp white sugar or brown sugar

1 tbsp vegan worcestershire sauce or 1 tbsp vegan hoisin sauce or 1 tbsp Kikoman Lite Soy Sauce

2 tbsp lime juice

1 clove garlic, minced or 1/2 tsp garlic powder/salt

1 tbsp hot chili flakes

3 tbsp rice vinegar or white vinegar

Rice vermicelli, fully cooked -- rinsed with cold water, cooled. 

Fixings

Finely chopped cucumber

Chopped roasted, unsalted peanuts

Bean sprouts

Finely shredded cabbage

Other shredded vegetables, optional: carrots, daikon radish, red cabbage, etc.

Tofu Preparation

Extra firm tofu, cubed

Bowl of cornstarch

In a frying pan, shallow fry your tofu which has been coated in corn starch. Flip each side around 'til golden brown all around. While this is frying, make up your rice vermicelli. Add your fixings, your tofu, peanuts, and top with your sauce. Add additional hoisin sauce if ya like. 

Coconut milk cupcakes.

THIS IS THE WORST PICTURE of some pretty good cupcakes. I made this recipe on the fly, and wrote down the ingredients as I went. I'm not going to lie, they make 11 fuller cupcakes. So put extra frosting on top if you're going to divide this into 12. 

Ingredients I

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Ingredients II

Vanilla

1/3 cup white sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup oil

1 cup full-fat coconut milk, well stirred

Vegan white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Line your baking tin with 11, ugh, cupcake liners. 

Mix up each list of Ingredients in seperate bowls. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Fold in the white chocolate chips. Add in nuts, fruit, etc, but no more than 3/4 cup. Fill 3/4 full. Bake for 22-24 minutes.

Frosting

1 tbsp vegan butter

2 tbsp coconut milk

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Beat by hand for a terribly long time or get out the electric mixer. Consistency is dependant on all sorts of things so add more powdered sugar if you need.

Vegan Skor bits were made on the fly. They were too buttery for me, but once I figure out a better ingredient ratio I'll be sure to post it. Essentially, too much butter, brown sugar, vanilla, soy cream was brought to a high temperature, cooled in a lined pan, then smashed up heaps. 

Kinda stuffed Portobello Mushroom.

I mean, I love bell peppers, but I'm allergic. Bummer! I wanted to shove some good shit in a large vegetable for dinner tonight. Though, between us, I went to the grand opening of Target Canada today searching for Morningstar vegan Riblets, and they barely had a few blocks of tofu on the shelves. Super side note: they also didn't have E.L.F. Cosmetics... 0 for 2, guys. Superstore was across the street and was a total ghost-town, I took advantage. 2 massive Portobello mushrooms for $2.30? I'm in. Normally mushrooms aren't my thing (ever) but I was digging on these for whatever reason. With Winnipeg's lovely weather, a partial barbecue was in order.

For the Filling 

1/2 cup chopped zucchini

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped onions

...Essentially, 1 1/4 cups of vegetables

1/3 cup panko or breadcrumbs

1/4 cup nuts; I used cashews

Seasoning of your choice; I used coriander and masala

Scoop the mushrooms out. I know they look like eyelashes, I'm sorry. Include them in the your frying pan, or don't.

Sautee your vegetables, transfer to a bowl and mix in the rest. Brush some oil or melted vegan butter along the bottom of the mushrooms, stick the filling in, and grill them on the BBQ - or bake them at 350F for 10-15 minutes. Keep in mind your filling is ready, you're just cooking the mushrooms. 

Top with nutritional yeast flakes, vegan cheese, Tofutti sour cream, salsa, tamarind sauce..

Things to try: include quinoa, brown rice, pine nuts. Stick this in a bell pepper. Load it with sriracha. Make a cashew cream sauce. Make THIS cashew cream sauce.

Jhal Muri.

I don't really like boring snacks, because I'm awesome. Potato chips don't cut it for me, and beef jerky has been out of the question since the day I was born. I dusted off my television set and found myself watching the Food Network, and saw a terribly colourful, lovely looking snack a fella in England was making. He was a street food vendor and had a big rad VW van, and the coolest accent to match. This is my take on Jhal Muri, with the original recipe right here!

1 cup puffed rice (Muri)
1/4 cup chickpea flour noodles (Sev)
1/3 cup crushed, toasted nuts - I used peanuts and cashews
1/4 cup fried green lentils
1/2 tomato, chopped
1/2 cup cucumber, chopped1 tablespoon fresh ginger root, chopped
3 tbsp. toasted coconut
1 small shallot, chopped
Fresh cilantro, chopped
3 tablespoon tamarind sauce
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon mustard oil


Mix all dry ingredients. Mix together your liquid ingredients and drizzle or stir into dry mix.
If your city has an East Indian grocery store, GO THERE!
In Winnipeg, I'm lucky to be shopping at..
India Spice (website) on 1875 Pembina Highway
Dino's Grocery Mart (website) on 460 Notre Dame