Vegetarian Meatballs - & my trip to the Healthy Chef cafe in Avalon

One of my favourite websites (which has been, ever since i stumbled across it) is the stone soup

www.thestonesoup.com

I love how simple her meals are, with minimal ingredients and effort required, and that they are healthy, fresh, and delicious, and that you can cook for one or two, or even in big batches to freeze.

This recipe really appealed to me because it's a 'mock' version of meatballs, and id love to be able to feed these to my friends and have them be surprised at how nice it is, even if it contains no meat! It impressed two of my friends, Stella (this is also great for people who are gluten intolerant since it uses almond meal) and also my friend Da binh, who has been a vegetarian all her life. Big bear said it was okay, just missing that 'meaty' taste, he said it 'wasnt too bad'. So for meat eaters, this might not be for you, but definitely if you are trying to eat healthy, i definitely reccomend giving this recipe a go, its so quick and easy - and cooked really well in my convection oven (25 minutes) as i like the balls to be crisp on top :)

before i put it in the oven

lentil balls with tomato sauce recipe

(recipe from here)

takes 5 mins prep + 20 mins cooking

serves 2

i doubled this recipe, and made 9 large balls, froze a few and kept a few for lunch at work

1 can lentils (400g/14oz), drained

75g (3oz) almond meal

1 egg

1 jar tomato passata (tomato puree) (700g/24oz)

parmesan cheese, to serve

1. Preheat oven to 200C (400F).

2. Roughly mash lentils in a large bowl with a fork, then add almond meal and the egg. Mix and season.

3. Place tomato passata in the base of a large oven proof dish. Using a soup spoon, form the lentil mixture into small balls. Placing them in the sauce as you go.

4. Drizzle very generously with extra virgin olive oil and bake for about 20 minutes or until balls are firm and the sauce has reduced a little.

I also sprinkled in some chilli flakes & dried basil to give it a bit more flavour.

after it came out of the oven

As well as trying out healthy cooking at home, i always try to order the healthy options when i go out to eat (sometimes im naughty though! but it's healthy to cheat once in a while, it keeps you fromc raving the bad stuff all the time, allows you to stay sane)

A little while back, Stella, my good friend, drove us out to Avalon beaches for yoga, a beach run, and then lunch at 'the healthy chef cafe'.

Yoga - was fun! Since then i've bought my own yoga mat, aiming do give my body a good stretch out atleast once a week.

Beach run - is so much harder then normal running! it was a great work out for the legs, and in the short distance, it felt like a really long run with the after burn i got later in the day

You can check out the healthy chef website here, and also check out the cafe menu here.

They cater for vegans, vegetarians, meat eaters, people intolerant to gluten and dairy, there's is something for everyone but the main focus is on healthy eating which is great!

& here is a list i found on the site too- enjoy!

Teresa’s 10 steps to eating well:

1 Eat plenty of seasonal vegetables and fresh fruit and choose organic wherever possible.

2 Foods should be served as close to its natural state as possible, without processing, additives, preservatives, artificial colors or flavors.

3 Use healthy cooking methods like steaming, baking, grilling, sauté or stir-frying and eliminate deep fried foods

4 Cook with lots of fresh herbs and spices not only for taste but for their health and medicinal properties this will also allow you to use less salt.

5 Include nuts, seeds and super foods daily as they provide you with an abundance of minerals, vitamins, fiber and essential fats for optimum health and well being.

6 Eat healthy cold pressed oils such as extra virgin olive oil, macadamia nut, avocado oil, sesame and sunflower oil and other virgin nut and seed oils in moderation. Avoid trans fats and hydrogenated oils.

7 Keep to a low allergy, low GI diet this includes reducing wheat and excessive coffee consumption.

8 Stop counting calories, Instead just adopt a sensible approach to wellness with healthy food as your focus.

9 Try to keep red meat to a minimum and replace with healthier protein sources like fish, seafood, eggs, organic chicken, turkey, beans + pulses, nuts, seeds.

10 Drink plenty of water and avoid soft drinks, alcohol and excess sugar.

bright green cups used to get your own water from the counter

Gluten free lemon polenta cupcake

chocolate milkshake

dandelion tea

iced soy chai

My iced soy chai was so refreshing, and not to sweet (they used just a hint of honey).

toasted gluten free banana bread

I'm not sure if it was the fact that they toasted it on a grill, or that it had specks of coconut flakes in it, but this was the best piece of banana cake ive ever had! i really miss making banana bread, and eating them, as they are still soo expensive (AUD$10 per kilo).

Poached Salmon with zucchini linguini and green goddess avocado

I wanted a zero carb meal and this was perfect - zucchini linguini is such a smart idea, (tossed with parsley, mint and lemon salsa verde) and the salmon was poached in apple juice - id love to recreate this meal at home.

organic poached egg w/ baked beans bacon spinach + hint of salsa verde

Bacon and organic egg panini with caramalized onion and tomato relish

(i think this was ordered on a wholewheat bun instead of panini)

Everyone at our table enjoyed the food, and we all felt really' healthy' eating is, especially after the yoga & beach run. This is an example of the perfect day out for me, some physical activity outdoors, on the beach, near the water, followed by a delicious and healthy meal, this has become one of my favourite cafes, i'll definitely come back again.

R.I.P

William Tran

8.3.1991 - 3.9.2011

I am glad to have met you

Although our acquaintance wasn't long

You have taught me that life can be short

that even tomorrow i could be gone

this is why i believe

you should live life to the day

and make the most of what you have

don't dwell on the things that you dont

QUORN Product Review - Meat free Soy free Sausages

The final product i was given in the QUORN range were these sausages. I've had my fair share of not so great meat free sausages, usually they have a rubbery texture, not much flavour, and a bit sickening to eat. So i wasn't going to get my hopes up for these ones.

Straight out of the box, they didn't look too appetizing, but after pan frying them over medium heat in two tablespoons of vegetable oil, they turned a nice golden colour.

I didn't want any carbs with these, so i sauteed two small onions in a pan with a table spoon of olive oil, when they were soft i added 1/4 cup of honey, and 2 tablespoons basalmic vinegar, and let the basalmic vinegar evaporate before plating up.

I was aiming for a 'caramelized onion' look, but failed :( They still looked pretty white, and weren't as soft as i wanted them to be. Will need to read up on that sometime..

The verdict: these sausages are the nicest vegetarian ones i've had, by far. They are a lot like the texture of chicken sausages, these were my favourite kind of sausages back in my meat eating days. The onions were a nice accompaniment :O)

I would definitely buy these again, and maybe try a bangers and mash style meal. Big thanks to James for letting me use his camera, and also helping out with photo-taking :)!!!

QUORN Product review - Meat free Soy Free Mince

My 2nd post on QUORN products, stars a frozen packet of Mince. And my special vegetarian pasta recipe, that I've made time and time again, without fail, with whatever vegies i have on hand :)

I usually make a huge pot of this, and have it for lunch at work for a week. It's very healthy, full of vegetables, lots of garlic (i love my garlic!) and is definitely a satisfying meal for a vegetarian. So with the mince in the freezer i thought i'd add this in.

The product itself, does not look very appetizing (i wish i had taken a photo of it but its a bit hard when you're doing all the cooking!), its a dark grey brown colour and frozen into a big ball, i placed it in after the sauce was made, and crushed it up so that it could thaw and cook in the sauce.

The result? My yummy pasta sauce, with mince, that i would say... would be an 80% pass for a meat style pasta sauce. I think if i had added in two packets, it would've been nicer.

Chop up:

1-2 carrots

1-2 bulbs of garlic

2 white onions

small jar of sundried tomatoes

2 green capsicums

800g mushrooms

4 tomatoes

these can all vary, depending on what you have at home, or what vegetables you like more. I like to add in a small jar of olives as well if i have any :)

one packet of QUORN mince

adjust this to two packets if you can.

1 large jar dolmio sauce 'extra garlic'

1 large can whole peeled/crushed tomatoes

one packet of pasta

I'd never noticed this curly fettacine so decided to try it out, i think it gives the pasta a bit of a funky twist with all the curls :O)

Instructions:

1. Add 2 Tablespoons of olive oil into a pot, when heated up stir through the garlic and onion, with half a tablespoon of salt (so that the onions dont brown).

2. Add mushrooms and stir through till they have softened slightly, and have released some juices into the pan.

3. Stir through the canned tomatoes, and jar of sauce, crushing the whole tomatoes, while the sauce heats up.

4. Add the carrots, capsicum, chopped tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, and stir through.

5. Over medium heat, stirring every 5 minutes, let the sauce simmer until the vegies are cooked.

*tip: microwave the carrot in a dish with half a cup of water, so that they don't take too long to cook in the pot.*

Bon Apetit!

Quorn Product Review - Meat free Soy Free Pieces

Fiona from Markcomms had sent me some products from the new Quorn range being released in Australia, and ofcourse i accepted - as these are vegetarian friendly products suited to non-meat eaters but also for people who want to eat healthy as well.

http://www.quorn.com.au

One of the products i received was meat-free & soy-free pieces which are frozen but can be cooked in the oven, microwave, or in a pan with some oil.

double product review

QUORN & PASSAGE TO THAILAND

I had bought this stir fry sauce a couple of weeks ago, was going to do a vegetable stir fry but never got around to it, so the timing was great when i received my QUORN products.

Real simple, two onions roughly chopped, stir fried with a table spoon of oil and then QUORN's Meat free and soy free pieces are added.

Stir until pieces are heated through, add stir-fry sauce, and stir until sauce is completely heated through. This didn't take long, i was done in less then 15 minutes!

The result? An imitation meat stir fry, the texture of the soy pieces didnt exactly replicate real chicken, but i'd say it was about 70% there :)

I told my sister it was a chicken stir fry, and she said it was really nice. She still doesnt know that it was 'fake' meat, should i tell her? hehe :P

Peace Harmony - Vegetarian Thai Cuisine

44 Erskine Street

Sydney NSW 2000

Ph 02 9262 2247

Website http://www.peaceharmony.com.au

I had been recommended this restaurant by Trish & her boyfriend, who raved on about it saying it was the best Thai food they've ever had, and you wouldn't guess it was vegetarian at all. Joseph also saying that he would turn complete vegetarian if all food tasted like this.

WOW. Must be good? So after a day in the city, Richard and i came here. Starved, with high expectations hehe.

Roasted Duck Curry S $9.50 L $12

Veggie roasted duck in tasty red curry with

tomato, pineapple and vegetables.

The curry was the highlight of my meal, i kept drenching my rice with it, it was so tasty with lots of vegies & yummy pieces of sweet pineapple (this topped the curry off completely i loved it). It was a very smooth curry, unlike some places where you can sort of see the layer of oil separate from the curry.

Spicy Fried Rice S $9.50 L $12

Special fried rice with veggie meat, tofu,

vegetables, basil and chilli paste.

This fried rice was soooo chilli, i was constantly reaching for my water hehe. Richard loved it though, he can take some mean chilli in his food (i so jealous). It was however slightly bland in taste, despite the strong colours which was probably light soy sauce?

Tom Yum $5.00

Thai style spicy and sour soup with veggie king

prawn, baby corn, mushroom and Thai herb.

I haven't had tom yum soup this spicy & flavorful before, and was quite impressed seeing as this was completely vegetarian. The soup was very dark in color, and all the flavors penetrated each piece of veggie. Richard thought it was a bit salty, but that's how i like my food so no complaints from me!

Veggie Drum Stick (4pcs) $6.00

Beancurd sheet rolled on stick, deep fried, served with

sweet chilli sauce.

These were delicious little morsels, it was like chewing on a crunchy mini drumstick, & it wasn't overly oily. I was hoping for a more meaty sort of texture as to mimic real chicken meat, but nonetheless it was still a great entree.

Mind you, all this was between 2 people, and we totally over-ordered because we were soo hungry. We ended up doggy bagging everything but the entree, and i had it for breakfast the next day mm :)

The service was very friendly, the food is definitely good enough to come back to again & again, as there is such an extensive menu, of which i don't have t trawl through and find which ones i can or can't eat - as it is ALL PURE vegetarian :D

Thanks again Trish for tellin me about this little gem of a restaurant!

Becasse Restaurant

204 Clarence Street

Sydney NSW 2000

ph: 029283 3440

Mine & Richards birthday fall exactly one week apart from eachother, so we always go out for dinners together just the two of us, to celebrate. (he is the older one hehe). Every other year i think we just ate japanese somewhere.. this year, is the first year we're celebrating since starting bettys bites, and i've been looking around at other blogs and starting a list of places that i wanted to go eat at..

This was probably the most expensive on the list! (i think). Richard had booked Tetsuya a few months back.. but his nutritionist told him no shell fish, and i converted from pesketarian to lacto ovan vegetarian, so it wasn't an option anymore.. also, a friend had ruined this surprise by accidentally blurting it out one night at dinner! It was meant to be a secret kept from me.. but if Richard was going around telling everyone - it was bound to get to me somehow!

This post will be on the vegetarian degustation, the normal degustation will follow shortly..

We had a 7.30pm booking on a Thursday night. I had actually rang a few days earlier and changed it from 6.30pm, as i didnt think i'd make it up to the city in time after work (i work out west, while Richard works in North Sydney)

There was a dinner (possibly work function) happening upstairs, so instead of taking 2 hrs, it took about 3.5.. & they were quite rowdy upstairs as well..

Canape

I'm not sure what these starters were but i'll take a wild guess.. the crisp base must have been oven baked? As they weren't very oily, but were crisp all the way through. Kind of like a seasoned crouton, but bigger & rounder. Topped with some flavoured sourcream, topped with finely sliced chives.

Assorted breads

The breads had a very hard crust, & soft insides & were nicely warmed. So the butter & olive oil emulsions just melted over the bread, i loved this! They've turned something normal, bread & butter, into an amazing entree.

Whipped butter & Olive oil emulsion

Amuse bouche

This light & lush soup was so good & flavoursome. I sipped this up so quickly, each sip didn't involve the cup going back to the saucer, i just kept sipping it (really loudly mind you haha). The soup was rich, hot (but sipping temperature) & was extra creamy.

Salad of heirloom tomato
basil with golden tomato & olive oil sorbet

Different sorts of tomatoes, served with an olive oil sorbet. I loved the colors & presentation with this dish, & the olive oil flavour in the sorbet was really addictive!

composition of baby beetroots
asparagus & hazelnut

Even though the portion sizes were small, the colours & presentation made up for it very well. I also love the plating! Plating something up on a plain white plate, just wouldn't be right. Instead, this round pattern starting in the middle of the plate & working it's way right to the edges, brings the dish itself into another dimension altogether.

tarte fine provencal
baby herb salad and verbena tea vinaigrette

potage quat saisons

This soup was interesting. So many flavours, with a variety of vegetables & herbs used, yet the vegetables were still crisp and fresh.

potato gnocchi
saute of mushrooms, baby gem lettuce & confit lemon

The potato gnocchi - was beautiful! Even more so, because it was pan fried :) I loved biting into a piece, breaking through the crispy fried layer, then past into the softness .. teamed with the mushrooms & lemon, this dish was outstanding.

tortellini of smoked goats' curd
braised silverbeet, beurre noisette & toasted spice crumbs

This was another striking dish, that came together so fine. The spiced crumbs in particular, i've never had anything so flavorsome, that came in just fine little speckled crumbs. The tortellini was warm, biting into it, the saporous goats curd was velvety & rich, a fine morsel of food!

passionfruit parfait
caramel, passionfruit & citrus curd

i chose this over the rhubarb and mandarin goats' cheesecake, burnt butter icecream, lemon balm & honey crumble. The deserts were also quite small, the tanginess & creamy flavours were tending to contrast, as well were the crunchy passion fruit seeds & the melting parfait.

banana creme brulee
salted peanut brittle & milk coffee sorbet

I was told by a few people to order this desert, apparently its mindblowing! It was indeed something eccentric. When you break into the peanut brittle, you get to the banana creme brulee (which surprisingly didn't have a very strong banana flavour). The brittle was pleasingly crisp, and the sorbet was wonderfully smooth.

The food tonight was gorgeous. I was blown away by the presentation the most, and the tantalizing flavours used in each dish. I was a pity they had a function going on upstairs, but the service was superb, the waiters were polite, and minus the noise, it was an intimate experience, a lovely one shared with my baby.

My vegetarian degustation cost $120, not including wine (that would be $60 with recommended wines with each dish).

It was well worth it, and something we won't be doing for a while now.. hehe. This post is late actually, we had this dinner in July!

Glebe Markets

Glebe Markets

Corner Derby Place & Glebe Point Rd, Glebe NSW 2037

Badde Manors

1/37 Glebe Point Road, Glebe NSW 2037

I love going to Glebe markets, & ever since Lis & Leona introduced me to this place, i've been going back whenever i get the chance to :)

This markets has a very unique feel to it. From the people, to the stalls, & the food. I fell i love with the vegetarian gozleme as soon as i bit into it.

There is a stall that sells Gozleme, which is savoury traditional handrolled turkish pastry.

Fresh pastry is rolled out, filled & sealed then fried on a hot plate/bbq.

At $6 for vego (spinach & cheese), & i think $7 for meat version (spinach, cheese &beef), you get one serving plus a wedge of lemon. & i ALWAYS ask for an extra piece of lemon, i like to drench mine in lemon hehe..

I havent tasted gozleme this nice anywhere else! I usually eat it at Fairfield markets near my place, but its NO where near as good.

The pastry is thin & crispy, there is not too much filling - just enough. One bad thing though is - one is never enough for me! I find myself going back for seconds (sharing the second one with Richard hehe).

& then we go over to Badde Manors (our fav joint to eat at in Glebe) & we have a pot of their special in house Chai Tea ! LOVE LOVE this chai, we're always coming back here for dinner/lunch/breakkie, the place is vegetarian as well (bonus for me!)

They've recently spruced up their menu's as well :)

Their chai has flesh pieces of ginger, actual tea, and all the spices you'll find in a chai (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, cardomom, star anise & peppercorn). What i love about it besides the full flavours, is that its not too watery like some places serve it.

The cafe isn't huge, but there's a front room, and a back room. We always get a seat in the back room as its more quiet & cosey, and the walls are filled with flyers & posters of all assortments. Places for rent, music gigs, instrument tutorial flyers, i'd love to live in Glebe :)

I also like to browse the few bookstores they have in the area. It's not a very long street, & there are other cafe's around, but i always come back to this one.