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This is the most delicious, decadent, chocolate ice-cream. And it’s easy to make! It’s made on coconut milk and soy milk. Visit this website!!

http://vegandad.blogspot.com.au/2009/07/decadent-chocolate-ice-cream.html

I swear this tastes even better than the strawberry ice-cream at the ekka!

3.5 cups strawberries, chopped (I like to buy pesticide free strawberries from the West End Markets)
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
0.5 cups honey (divided into 2)
1.5 cups milk
2.75 cups double cream
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place the strawberries and lemon juice in a bowl with 0.25 cups of honey. Stir and allow to sit for two hours. Strain the strawberries and keep the juice. Mash the strawberries in a bowl roughly.

Using an electric beater on low, beat the rest of the honey, milk, cream, vanilla extract and strawberry juice until mixed. Mix in the mashed strawberries. Taste the mixture. If you wish for a sweeter ice-cream, add extra honey a tablespoon at a time.

Pour the mixture into an ice-cream maker for 25 – 30 minutes or place in freezer. If you don’t have an ice-cream maker, put the ice-cream in the freezer. After 1.5 hours in the freezer, beat the ice-cream with an electric beater and return to the freezer, repeating 2 more times to stop the formation of ice crystals.

I got this recipe for poached pears from my sister and it is delicious!

4 peeled pears
4 star anise
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon stevia

Place ingredients in a saucepan, cover the pears with water, then simmer for 20 minutes. Remove pears, increase the heat and reduce the liquid. Remove star anise and drizzle the liquid over the pairs. Done! Mmmmmm…. If you wish, serve with cream or ice cream.

For many years now we have baked a Vasilopita  (St Basil’s Bread) to mark the new year and St Basil’s Day on January 1st. As we have a Basil (Vasilios) in our house, it is also a Name Day celebration and a special time for us. In fact Vasilios has baked the bread himself now for the past fifteen years or so.  When we became vegan, we modified the recipe so that it no longer included animal fats. We also modified it to bake in our bread machine as living in a  hot climate does not exactly motivate one to want to knead dough and have the oven running for hours!  There have been many trial runs but the recipe is now tried and true and we are pleased to be able to share it here. We also use this same recipe for Tsoureki at Easter, but I will post that version closer to the time.

Vegan Vasilopita

Ingredients

3 teaspoons of orange zest

2 Tablespoons of orange juice

Egg replacer (Made up to be equivalent of one whole egg and one egg white.)

65ml soy milk

6 Tablespoons of vegan margarine (We have found a soy based one works very well but any dairy free margarine will work.)

2 teaspoons of aniseed juice (instructions below)

90g raw caster sugar

425g plain white flour

1 x 8g sachet of yeast

3 Tablespoons of warm water

Method

1. Prepare the aniseed juice by boiling 1 Tablespoon of aniseed in 1 cup of water for a few minutes, then strain and set aside. (This process is a bit like making tea.)
2. Zest finely one orange and set aside. (This should give you approximately 3 teaspoons of zest. We usually use large navel oranges, but Valencias work fine too.)
3. Juice the orange and set aside.
4. Prepare the egg replacer as per instructions on packet and set aside.
5. Prepare yeast by placing the 3 Tablespoons of warm water in a glass bowl and dissolving a pinch of sugar. Sprinkle the contents of the sachet into the water, swish about a bit then cover with a cloth and set aside out of drafts.
6. Measure out milk and set aside.
7. Measure out margarine, melt and set aside.
8. Weigh the flour and set aside.
9. Weigh the sugar and set aside.
10. By now, the yeast should have started to activate (It will look a little bit fluffy/frothy.)
11. Place ingredients into the bread machine in the following order:
    1. zest
    2. juice
    3. aniseed juice
    4. egg replacer (you may need to whisk as it may have settled)
    5. margarine
    6. soy milk
    7. caster sugar
    8. flour
12. Make a small well in the top of the flour and tip the yeast on top.
13. Place pan into bread maker and select the sweet bread setting.

A note about bread machines…

We have two different bread machines. On one we simply choose the sweet bread setting. On the other we have to choose the size and crust, in which case we select 750g, light crust, then sweet bread.  Unfortunately all machines are a little different so you may have to experiment with this aspect of the recipe.

Adding the Coin

Traditionally, new year’s breads have a coin hidden inside. We have found that it is easier to add the coin after the bread is baked by simply poking it up through the hole created in the base by the kneading pin in the machine. The little brochure that came with our coin has the following instructions, keeping in mind that the bread is traditionally baked in a circle. As we do not have this shape, we simply cut slices.

“ The head of the house will bless the Vasilopita with the cutting knife crosswise in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. He will then cut the centre in a circle as an offering to our Lord Jesus, Who is first in our life. Then he will proceed to cut wedges starting with a piece for the Ever Virgin Mary, and for St Basil. Subsequently, a wedge for himself and all other members of his family and guests in succession. The one who finds this coin in his or her piece, is considered to be blessed especially for the New Year.”

 This year the coin lay halfway between St Basil’s piece and Vasilios’ piece! (Photographic evidence below!)

Happy New Year to all our vvoc.org readers.

Take a look at our newly updated recipe page. The ‘Recipes‘ page appears under the ‘About’ tab on our home page. We are beginning to collate some of our favourite recipes. There are sweet and savoury vegetarian and vegan recipes available. Enjoy!

These go by many names. In our house we call them vegan rum balls, but I have also heard them called chocolate truffles.

Christmas Chocolate Truffles

For a gluten and sugar free rum ball idea I have also tried modifying the fruit and nut bite recipe. Instead of rinsing the fruit, just add 1-2 Tablespoons of rum to make the mixture moist.  Anyhow, back to the recipe at hand.  This recipe is very flexible and forgiving.  Just remember, it is easier to add more moisture than to remove it!

Ingredients

1 x 250g packet of vegan/vegetarian sweet biscuits

135ml of coconut cream (make sure you use coconut cream not coconut milk)

1 cup dessicated coconut

1/3 cup raisins (or you might like to used mixed dried fruit)

2 Tablespoons of dutch processed cocoa

1 Tablespoon rum

extra coconut for rolling

Method

1. Process the biscuits in a food processor until finely ground.
2. Add the cocnut, raisins and cocoa and continue to process.
3. Add the coconut cream and rum and process until a ball forms. This may take a little while but it will happen.
4. Roll teaspoons of mixture to form a ball shape and roll in extra coconut. You could also roll them in cocoa or vanilla bean powder.
5. Refrigerate

Makes approximately 30 (Depending on how many you eat while you are making them!)

These little bites are raw, vegan, sugar and gluten free!  You can use different nuts, vegan choc chips or even add some cocoa to vary the recipe depending what is at hand.

1 cup raw nuts (I used 1/2 cup walnuts + 1/2 cup cashews and macadamias)

1 cup raisins

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons coconut

Extra coconut for rolling

(1) Rinse the nuts and fruit to make them moist and easier to process

(2) Food process everthing until a ball starts to form.

(3) Take teaspoons of mixture and roll into balls, then roll these in coconut.

Refridgerate

Quinoa Cous Cous

This recipe is like Cous Cous, but much more nutritious.

1/2 cup of quinoa
1 1/2 cups water
1 stock cube
250g mushrooms
olive oil
150g green beans
2 boiled eggs or 200g cooked chickpeas

Rinse quinoa a couple of times and let sit in water while getting the other ingredients together.  Slice mushrooms and fry in oil. Slice green beans and steam. Rinse quinoa again in fresh water. Place quinoa in pot with water and stock cube. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until water is absorbed and quinoa is soft and separated looking. Mix mushrooms, green beans and egg or chickpeas in.

Lentil Loaf

Ingredients

2 cans lentils
1 medium carrot
1 stick celery
1 cup bread crumbs
130g tomato paste
1 medium onion
1 egg or equivalent egg replacer

Method

1. Use a food processor to process 1 can of lentils. Remove this to a large bowl.
2. Process the carrot, celery and onion until finely grated. Add to the processed lentils.
3. Add the unprocessed lentils, tomato paste, bread crumbs and egg or egg replacer.  Mix well.
4. Press into a lightly oiled loaf tin and bake in 180C oven for about 35 minutes.  Stand for 10 minutes before turning out.
5. Serve with gravy, green beans and roast potatoes.

2 tbsp oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground cumin
2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
1 cup red lentils, rinsed well
600 ml vegetable stock (I use one stock cube dissolved in water)
300 ml coconut milk (I use the whole tin – 400 ml – and reduce the water in the stock)
2 tsp lemon juice (optional)

Heat oil in a large pot and saute the onion till clear or gently browned, then add the garlic and cook for a further minute or so, stirring.  Add the spices and cook for a further 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

Add the tomatoes, lentils, lemon juice, vegie stock and coconut milk and bring to the boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender and cooked.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

(Serves 4)