Gorgeous Grub at Govinda's!

I love the Hare Krishna café Govinda's so much, I really must go there more often. The food is SO CHEAP and they really pile it on the plate. I don't think there's anywhere you'd get so much tasty food for so little money. The boy and I spent the day in town together today and went to the café on Aungier Street for lunch (there are 3 Govindas around Dublin). He got the spring rolls and chilli dip, which I assume were vegan, and were filled with grated carrot, beansprouts, and peas, amongst other things. I ordered the vegan Subji with salad instead of rice. The vegan Subji of the day was a mildly spicy, tomatoey concoction of cauliflower, aubergines, peas, onions, french beans and carrots, and I chose the peanut cous cous and the apple, celery and beetroot salad as accompaniments. This huge plate came to just under €7.00 - what a bargain!  Govinda's also have samosas which are vegan, and a veggie burger which can be veganised on request. I think their soups are often vegan as well. I really can't wait to go back again, it's the place to visit if you're ravenous and want somewhere where you'll be served quickly and with a smile.

Yes, I am aware that I look a bit of a piglet eating all this compared to my boyfriend's plate!! It's his loss for not liking subji!

I also picked up this book for only €2.99 - 30 Minute Indian. It has a lot of recipes involving meat and dairy, but the vegetable (mostly vegan) and bread/rice sections are really worth picking this book up for. I'm sure even the recipes that are not vegetarian can be veganised. I can't wait to give the mushroom korma, stuffed okra, dahl tarka, bhajis, coconut fudge and pumpkin curry a whirl!

Culinary Disasters!

Tonight I was left alone in the kitchen and things went kinda wrong! First of all when I got home I decided to use up the rest of the mock pork seitan with a nice salad. I thought frying it with a sprinkling of Chinese Five Spice was going to be good... but it was actually disgusting! I've heard wonderful things about this spice, so I don't know if I've used it incorrectly, but it's meant to be nice on chips and wedges and to flavour stir fries, so I don't know if I just hate it altogether, or if I just used it in the wrong manner. It was WAY to cinnamonny/clovey for me... don't get me wrong, I LOVE cinnamon, but this did NOT go well with the salad at all. I was quite miffed that I actually managed to ruin a perfectly good meal.

Then later on this evening I got inspired by Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar to make their Peanut Butter Blondies. Everything was going swimmingly until I left them unattended, deciding that the full 25 mins at 200C would be fine, seeing as our oven is pretty dire... so as you can see, my blondies are not so much blondies, but more like a brownie! :(  The boy loved them though, they still managed to taste good and soft on the inside. Next time I'll know what to do, to make them more aesthetically pleasing!

Thank You Lovely Boyfriend!

Look what my very kind boyfriend made for me today (he'll even hack through an extremely tough butternut squash for me, that's how much he cares)!

My friend Jacqui has been raving about how amazing butternut squash chips are - a weight watchers zero point alternative for potato chips / fries, for the calorie conscious amongst us - so I bought one and thought we should give it a go. Our oven takes so much longer to cook anything than any other oven known to man, so they weren't as crispy as they should have been as I was very impatient to eat, but they were still incredibly tasty tossed in some Kentucky fried chicken style spices, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and dipped in sweet chilli sauce... mmmmm!

Southern Fried Polenta Pineapple Salad

I love to experiment as you all know, and I came up with this little beauty: Polenta cubes tossed and fried in "Southern" spices, with Pineapple chunks on a bed of Tomato & Rocket. It was VERY tasty! The sweetness of the pineapple really compliments and works well with the spicy polenta. It was absolutely delish :) I got the spices from the Asian market. Back in the day when I ate meat I used to love the crispy batter on KFC, but disliked the chicken itself, as it was just too greasy and offputting. So the jar of spices was a very welcome discovery and it goes all battery like proper KFC batter when you cook it. I just love it!

I had this just after getting back from a 4 hour hike (yes 4 hour!) up the mountains around Glendalough. My friend and I walked 11km, most of it up steep inclines. Well worth it though, the scenery was breathtaking, and we got one hell of a workout! The weather here in Ireland has been beautiful today, most of the country is having barbecues and is very, very drunk.

Chilli Non Carne

I have to share with you a recipe that I concocted from various other recipes. It is most definitely one of the nicest chilli non carnes I've ever had! It is also not too spicy because the boy isn't as tough as me and can't handle hot food ;) It has a semi-sweet flavour to it. I served it up with tortilla chips as I'm not a big fan of rice, it's a bit boring as a plain accompaniment to a dish. This chilli's secret ingredients are cumin and cinnamon. Every time I eat this I want more and more!

Ingredients (Serves 2-3):

- 2 Onions
- 2 Cloves of Garlic
- 2 Sticks of Celery
- 1 Red or Orange Pepper
- Half cup of Sweetcorn
- Can of Mixed Beans in Taco Sauce from Tesco
- Teaspoon Cinnamon Powder
- Teaspoon Chilli Powder
- Teaspoon Cumin Powder
- 2 Tablespoons of Tomato Purée

Method:

- Dice the Onions, Garlic, Celery & Pepper
- Fry them in a large pan with a little oil until starting to soften and turn brown
- Add the Sweetcorn and the can of Taco Mixed Beans
- Add the Spices and Tomato Purée
- Cook over low heat for 10-15 mins

I like to leave this in the pot overnight to stew in its own juices, as it brings out the flavours so much more if you eat it the following day.