More Cheap Eats, Fun & Friends

I went to Govinda's again last night... yes I know what you're thinking, I'm addicted. You'd be right too, I really am - what do they put in their food? I swear there's some sort of narcotic in there that keeps drawing me back in!

I met with my good friends from Kildare, Rob and Katie. They are not vegan, but love veggie and vegan food. Katie has successfully been a vegetarian now for the last 6 months and admitted to being surprised that she hasn't missed meat one bit. She is an excellent cook so I'm not surprised! It was the first time I'd seen my friends since Christmas so we exchanged gifts over a lovely meal. They gave me a book you're all probably quite familiar with called Vegonomicon, which I was ecstatic about! I've never managed to obtain a copy and have only heard good things about it - it's meant to be the Bible of vegan cookery books and I can't wait to start trying out the recipes.

As for the meal - Govinda's impressed me as always. I got Sweet & Sour Veg, Cous Cous, Broccoli & Carrot, Beetroot, and Chickpea Salad. OMGosh it was good. My friends also got the Vegetarian Lasagne and the Paneer dishes, which they said were really tasty. Here's a picture of my plate, the Broccoli & Carrot mix was actually my favourite part. I have no idea how they managed to make it taste so amazing, but it really was! The Sweet & Sour was not like the conventional type of Chinese Sweet & Sour that immediately springs to mind when you think of that kind of dish, but had a more subtle "curry-esque" flavour which was neither too sweet nor too sour. Perfect!

Hmmmmm...ouz

So I thought I'd give making my own houmous a go tonight. I had been recommended a recipe containing beetroot, and I love beetroot so immediately thought it would be something I'd like. My blender isn't the best so it ended up a bit chunky, and I didn't have a couple of the ingredients (tahini or lemon juice) so I made up my own recipe! Here it is:



Blend:
- 1 can of Chickpeas
- 3 medium cooked Beetroots
- 2 cloves of garlic
- couple small handfuls of Sesame & Pumpkin Seeds
- quarter cup of Balsamic Vinegar
- dessert spoon of Vegan Boullion dissolved in a little water
- lots of Paprika and Chilli Powder
- a little Salt and Pepper

I am not the sort of person who can eat a whole tub of houmous, it usually goes off in the fridge so I decided to freeze it in a silicone baking tray, into six medium sized portions. I've done a taste-test and it is absolutely gorgeous! Can't wait to have it tomorrow with some cruditées of carrot, baby corn and cucumber!