6 Food trends I am completely over and 6 I am eagerly awaiting

Every so often food trends come and go from sun-dried tomatoes to focaccias to cupcakes and cronuts. Heck I've even been guilty of falling prey to the donut trend, making my own rather tasty vegan baked donuts. As I write recipes and read food blogs, sometimes I see the same recipes again and again. They are usually exclaimed over as though no one else has over made them quite so good, but only the next day you'll see another recipe pop up for raspberry and chia jam or mango and chia seed pudding. 

I know that food trends, especially in vegan cooking, come from a desire to abstain from particular ingredients or an inability to eat certain food due to severe allergies. It's great that people take the time to be inventive and create new food combinations. I don't have to like all of them. Heck, I love quinoa and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I even made a cauliflower pizza base! But it's when I see them so many times that I start thinking that I wish they'd disappear....

Massaged kale

                         

                                    Image from here via Creative Commons

Rubbing a bit of brassica (part of the cabbage family) in coconut oil until it until it resembles salad that's been sitting in the bottom of the salad bowl marinading in italian salad dressing at a family barbecue in the sun for the better part of a day? Yuck. Where I live you can't actually buy kale except for one week a year.

Kale chips
                               
                                             Image from here via Creative Commons


Sorry, they're just not the same as potato chips. Or even as good as beetroot chips. There's something about them that catches in the back of my throat, combined with the smell of nutritional yeast that, as much as I love the stuff, reminds me of vitamin B tablets.

Chia pudding

                            
                                       Image from here via Creative Commons

Yes, it's healthy and an alternative to creamy, high fat desserts. But after they've been soaking a while, chia seeds resemble frogs eggs turning into tadpoles, all slimy. Did you ever study those at school? I did. It was a little bit creepy.

 And don't get me started on chia jam, whilst it has it's place, in my humble opinion it's not as good as my pear and vanilla or strawberry and rosewater jam. Just saying.

Brussel sprouts

                       
                                  Image from here via Creative Commons

Brussel sprouts are very popular in Germany and as cheap as carrots and cabbages. But if I see another recipe for brussel sprouts fried or baked with oil, garlic and salt and pepper (with or without nuts and bacon). Surely everyone has worked these out by now that these go best fried rather than boiled within an inch of their lives like in years gone by?

Green juice smoothies

                          
                                     Image from here via Creative Commons

Yes, I know, you have an amazing blender (the maker of which sponsors your blog posts according to your disclaimer). And I have no longer got a blender since I moved house so I am poorer than you and cannot make smoothies or juices anymore. But do you have to make another post every time you replace spinach with kale or blueberries with raspberries? Here in Germany you can buy cabbage juice at the supermarket by the carton. That's hardcore.

Two ingredient ice cream

                                      
                                                   Image from here via Creative Commons

You've discovered this amazing way to make ice cream, so much so that you went and bought an ice cream maker. And you're going to share it with all of us. If I read a little further I will invariably discover that your magic ingredient is either bananas or coconut milk. Sometimes you even go crazy and use both! I have made ice cream both ways and it invariably taste like either bananas soft serve or coconut soft serve. Not surprising really.

6 Food trends I am eagerly awaiting

Poutine

                                                   Image from here via Creative Commons

Hot chips with cheese curds and gravy. How could it be wrong? I tried it first in Montreal at the Jazz Festival, then was a regular at Melbourne's Lord of the Fries. So good.

Linner
Like brunch but later and far boozier.

Sunday roasts in restaurants for lunch
Roast meat/nuts/tofu, roast veg, greens and gravy. A staple at British pubs and occasionally in Australia. Not so much in Germany unless you want the ubiquitous pork and potatoes that you can also get any other day, any time.

More smaller serve recipes
Single unit dwellings are a thing. Many of us are couple or not but happily child free. We can end up eating that same dish three days in a row. Not everyone has much freezer space. That said, I've seen recipes for a single chocolate chip cookie, these make me sad.

More local fruits and vegetables
Since moved to Germany I've fallen in love with kohlrabi and Schwarzwurzel (salsify). Back in Australia I loved bok choy, choy sum and chinese broccoli, (not so accessible except in asian grocers here) not to mention Lychees and Dragonfruit from Queensland. It's fun to try things you haven't had the opportunity to eat much of, or in turn cook your favourites in a new ways using local ingredients.

More supperclubs and potlucks. 
I've loved running a supper club for the last 6 months. I love the way that food can bring people together, especially those who might otherwise be socially isolated or lacking the opportunity to meet new people. People have been creating websites and apps to bring people together all around the world, but what is needed most is for people to open their homes and give it a go. It's fun and a great way to move out of our comfort zone and challenge yourself.

Cheesy pull apart bread

                    

I've been meaning to make one of these loaves for a while. It's a really simple recipe which goes great with soup or salad or as part of a party night hors d'oeuvre. It's great for sharing with friends who don'd mind eating with their fingers and is totally moreish!
                                   
Take some time cutting your loaf, I find it best to take it slow and it's pretty easy. The trick is to cut the loaf deep (close to the bottom without cutting the bottom of your loaf of bread) as the deeper the cuts, the more fillings you can put in and the better it will taste. I put vegan chorizo in my loaf as I couldn't find any vegan bacon which I prefer. It was still delicious and eaten over two meals rather quickly!

I'll be adding this as a free recipe for my next ebook. (The first is still available for only $3 with 50c going to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Melbourne Australia). 

                                   

Ingredients

• 1 rounded loaf of bread
• Vegan butter or olive oil
• Choice of fillings e.g: dairy free cheese, spring onions or onion jam, finely diced garlic, diced animal free chorizo or bacon, diced olives
• Dried herbs
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius (350 degrees fahrenheit).
2. Slice the bread into cubes: Slice the bread horizontally and vertically into 1-inch cubes. Do not slice all the way through the loaf — leave bottom of the loaf intact with the bread pieces still attached.
3. Fry garlic and onions/spring onions and faux bacon/chorizo in a pan for about 5 minutes until mostly cooked. 
4. Combine with any desired toppings in a bowl and mix well
5. Stuff the cheese and toppings into the bread between the slices. It is easiest to stuff one way and then another as less falls out that way! You can also put little slivers of butter in the slices for extra oozy goodness.
6. Pour melted butter  (or brush a little olive oil over top)
7. Wrap loaf in foil and bake for 20 minutes then unwrap the loaf and bake for another 10 minutes until the cheese is totally melted and the top of the loaf is crispy. 
8.  Serve the loaf while still hot from the oven.

Quinoa, barley and pickled vegetable salad

Despite appearances to the contrary, I don't eat fried food and sweet stuff all the time! My favourite food is actually soup which I love to cook (and eat) and I like making up recipes using what I have on hand. Ever since teaching preserving workshops, I'm a big fan of pickled vegetables. They are incredibly easy to make and great for gut health.

I'm a keen pickler. I love making kim chi, picalilli,  pickled beetroot and pickled cucumbers amongst other recipes. They go wonderfully with so many different snacks and meals and can also be enjoyed by the jar, standing in front of the fridge with a fork.

I can't eat a lot of wheat so I'm always on the look out for tasty grains. I finally found pearl barley at the supermarket here in Leipzig so I decided to knocked up a simple salad. Grains can be cooked in bulk and frozen in zip lock bags for easy meals, just add some veggies and seasoning and the food is on the table before you know it!

This is a salad where you can add veggies you like and omit those you don't. I would have used fresh parsley but was unable to find any in the supermarket so dried had to do. The dressing is light and can be flavoured with herbs or chilli if you like.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup pearl barley
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 2 tomatoes 
• 2 spring onions 
• 1 cucumber, 
• 1/2 capsicum, 
• I kohlrabi
• 1 carrot
• 2 garlic cloves
• 6 large cucumber pickles
• 2 tablespoons Sauerkraut ( I used a homemade red cabbage one)

Dressing:

1. 1/4 cup of pickle juice
2. 1/4 cup of olive oils
3. 1 tablespoon lemon juice
4. Black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Boil barley and quinoa in 2 1/2 cups of water until tender and almost all water has evaporated. Turn off heat, place lid on saucepan and leave to cook from the steam. 
2. Leave to cool
3. Dice vegetables and pickles into small pieces. 
4. Add grains and vegetables to a serving bowl and mix to combine. 
5. Mix dressing in a jar and shake well.
6. Add to salad and serve

                        

Vegan ingredients resource list

I've written a little vegan ingredients resource list to coincide with my vegan ebook, Australian classics veganised. I'll be adding to it when I write my next book. 

For convenience I use the terms cheese, butter and egg. There are loads of different terminology but I find a lot of it rather clumsy and annoying to edit although I appreciate some people prefer words without animal product connotations.. 

Custard powder

Custard powder is not dried, powdered custard. It is made up of thickeners, colours and flavours and resembles traditional custard when combined with sugar and non-dairy milk. It should not be confused with 'just add water' instant custard which contains eggs and milk. 

Dairy free butter

Dairy free butter is readily available in most supermarkets. It should not be confused with margarine which has whey and casein. A true dairy free butter is made from plant oils such as canola, olive and coconut oil. Nuttlex is readily available in Australia and Alsan S in Europe. 

Dairy free cheese

Dairy free cheese have undergone amazing growth and innovation in the last ten years. You can choose from tofu, nut and coconut oil based cheeses. It's worth reading the labels though because at least one tofu cheese in Australia contains rennet (an enzyme produced in the stomach of mammals).  You can also of course, make your own. Violife is probably the most popular cheese of late that is widely available in Australia and Europe. 

Dairy free chocolate

 Dairy free chocolate can be bought in some supermarkets and all health food shops. Dark chocolate is generally dairy free but check the ingredients list. 

Dairy free milk

Dairy free milk is easily available in most supermarkets and includes rice, soy, oat and nut milks. I use oat milk mostly in cooking because I like it, but any of these are fine. 

Egg replacer

 Egg replacer is made from a variety of raising ingredient like potato flour and corn flour. It can be used as an alternative to eggs in pancakes, cake, biscuits, burgers etc. Powdered egg replacers cannot be used to create egg recipes such as scrambles or omelets. (Tofu and also Chickpea flour work well though, stay tuned for a future recipe!). 

I've bought Australian company Organ's egg replacer in Australia, England and Europe. 

Golden Syrup

Golden syrup is a thick, amber-coloured form of inverted sugar syrup, made in the process of refining sugar cane or sugar beet juice into sugar, or by treatment of a sugar solution with acid. It is used in a variety of baking recipes and desserts. It has an appearance similar to honey, and is often used as a substitute by people who do not eat corn syrup. Some people make their own but I've never tried it. It's easily found in Australia and the UK and in some international shops in Europe. Agave and maple syrups work well as substitutes but treacle should be avoided due to it's overpowering taste. 

                                   

Jackfruit

The jackfruit tree is a widely cultivated and popular food in tropical regions of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, SriLanka, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Phillipines. Jackfruit is also found across Africa and throughout Brazil. Jackfruit is the national fruit of Bangladesh.

You can buy jackfruit in large Asian supermarkets. It most commonly comes tinned and is available in the tinned fruit section.Make sure you buy the one that comes in brine water than syrup as the syrup is really sweet. The sweet one (not suitable for savoury dishes) looks like this:

This is the one you want:

 It has a stringy texture that when cooked and shredded resembled shredded meat. Thus the fruit is a great option as an alternative to meat in vegan dishes. You could use it in tacos, pies, pasta, casseroles...many options! I like to use it to make jackfruit bournignon. You can also of course use it in desserts once sweetened with other fruit or sugars.

                            

Macadamia nuts and oil

Macadamia nuts and oil come from a species of tree indigenous to Australia and native to North eastern New South Wales and central and South eastern Queensland. They are available in most supermarkets and delicatessens everywhere. 

Soy granules/TVP

Soy granules (also known as textured soy protein and textured vegetable protein) are a dried soy product which can be soaked in stock or water and when cooked resemble minced meat. They are pretty bland so lend themselves well to herbs, spice and sauces. 

Stock cubes/stock powder

there are lots of stock products which are animal and msg free but resemble the spicing of meat dishes. These can be used in soups, sauces and all kinds of dishes. Massel is probably the most well known brand and is available in all Australian supermarkets. 

Vegemite

Vegemite is a dark brown Australian food paste made from leftover brewers' yeast extract with various vegetable and spice additives. It is wonderful on toast or when added to casseroles and curries to create a rich umami flavour. It should not be confused with Marmite and Promite that are vastly inferior products. It is readily available in all Australian supermarkets, Tescos in London and expat shops around the world. If you are an expat overseas it is worth noting that it cannot be carried onto planes, customs will confiscate it as a liquid! 

My new recipe ebook: Australian Classics Veganised

Guess what? I have made a Recipe ebook! It features 11 classic Australian recipes that have been revamped to be vegan and cruelty free. From Kingston biscuits to fish and chips to lamingtons, there's something for everyone. It's only $3.00 per copy (less than the price of a cup of coffee in Melbourne) and fifty cents from each purchase goes to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in Melbourne, Australia.

I had a great time writing and testing the recipes and I would love for you to buy a copy of the ebook and enjoy cooking the recipes! 

Fruit upside down cake

I made this cake with the intent of using up some rather sad looking fruit but not wanting to make a crumble or struesel.This is a tasty cake that goes wonderful with ice cream, soy whipped cream or custard. Or even on it's own with a cup of tea! 

                            

Ingredients:

Fruit Layer

Mixed fruit to cover:

• Three oranges (peeled and sliced into bite sized pieces)-next time I would just use one orange I think
• Two plums
• Three nectarines
• 2 Tb sugar, powdered
• 1 tsp squeeze orange juice
• 2 tsp cinnamon

Caramel

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 Tb water
• 1 Tb vegan margarine or butter

Cake

• 2 cups self raising flour 
• 1/2 cup  sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp fresh squeezed orange juice

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180c/365 celcius
2. Grease a spring form cake tin with butter or oil.
3. Place fruit in the pan decoratively
4. Make caramel but dissolving sugar in boiling water. Once dissolved add the butter and stir well, taking care to not burn yourself.
5. Slice fruit into small wedges.  Place in a bowl and mix in the sugar, squeezed orange juice and cinnamon. Set aside.
6. Allow mix to combine and slightly darken to a yellow with a froth. I imagine the caramel would be quite dark if you used brown raw sugar.
7. Carefully poor caramel into cake tin ontop of the fruit.
8. In a bowl mix together flour, salt and vanilla essence. Add milk and squeeze of orange and stir gently taking care not to overmix the mixture. 
9. Pour the batter over the apple layer, making sure to first fill the gaps between the slices. 
10. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake layer comes out clean.
11. Remove from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife along the sides for easy removal.
12. Place a large serving plate on top and carefully invert the cake onto the plate.
13. Allow to cool before serving. 

                         

Edible vegan gifts

I have often made edible gifts for people for Christmas, especially when I am teaching preserving classes and am keen to try out new recipes. I actually really enjoy giving and receiving handmade goods. There are so many benefits: seasonal excess food can be turned into something wonderful,  you can cook for an afternoon with a glass of wine instead of a trip to a shopping centre, you get the pleasure of making things with your very own hands. Having a few jars of preserves or cordial is always a great way to ensure you have gifts for any unexpected people or situations. 

I've put together a weird and wonderful range of recipes from jams to cordials to donuts. Have a look, there might be something you would like. 

Jams and preserves:
Tomato kasundi
Pickled beetroot
Onion jam
Piccalilli
Spicy pickled cucumbers
Dukkah
Strawberry and rosewater jam
Pear and vanilla bean jam

Drinks:
Strawberry cordial
Rose cordial
Pineapple cordial
Lemon and Barley cordial
Ginger beer

Baked goods:
Beetroot bread
No knead bread
Vegan baked donuts
Chocolate cauliflower brownies
Lemon poppyseed cake 
Seedy flapjacks
Vegan fruit and nut biscotti
Chocolate Bier cake

Vegan Fruit and nut Biscotti

I love these biscotti, a kind of dried biscuit that is twice baked and taste wonderful with a hot coffee. They take a little time to make but the result is well worth it.

Almond biscotti
Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs worth of egg replacer
• Finely grated rind of one lemon
• 2 cups plain flour, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 150grams whole almonds and pistachios
• 150 grams dried apricots, diced

 Instructions

1.    Preheat oven to 170°C. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.

2.   Place sugar, egg replacer and grated lemon rind in a large bowl. Beat with electric beaters until pale and thick.

3.   Fold in sifted flour, baking powder, nuts  and dried apricots, then use your hands to lightly knead dough on a floured work surface until the dough is smooth.

4.   Divide the mixture in half. Form 2 long logs about 25cm long x 5cm wide and place on prepared baking tray, leaving space between logs. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the dough is firm to the touch and slightly golden.

5.   Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes

6.   Preheat the oven to 140°C.

7.   Once dough is cool, use a small serrated knife to cut each log on the diagonal in 0.5cm slices.

8.   Lay slices flat on the baking tray and return to oven for 5-10 minutes, turning once, until completely dried out. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

 Store in an airtight container for 2-3 weeks.