How can I leave Gelati!

Yaaaaa, how could I spend my nice time in Italy without Gelati! Emmmm, VEGAN Gelati? Ya, VEGAN Gelati. It's not a news anymore. Nowadays, vegan ice-cream and gelati are everywhere. It's so much easier to be a vegan now.

I had gelati 3 times in Italy - I could have more, just I was too full from the other good food. One gelati store actually provides around 10 flavours of soy gelati. The most popular and typical flavour in Italy were pistachio and hazelnut. I tried them both, and also dark chocolate, banana and vanilla. I liked pistachio and dark chocolate most. The dark chocolate was exactly how I prefer it taste like - slightly bitter and not over sweet, not over creamy... complicated. I bought it from Perché No!, Florence, one of the oldest gelati store in Italy.

My birthday... with all the food and veggie and cooking thinggie plus @ Alley Cafe

I haven't written on this blog for a while... Cooking and tasting food run as usual; however, getting a bit lazy to write.

My friends surprised me a lot during my birth week! All the presents are about food and cooking! I received a cupcake salt and pepper set, a vegan bibibam, a vegan apple cinnamon cake, a maple candy, a 100 vegetarian recipe book and... a pasta machine!! Love them all so much!

There was a little celebration in Alley Cafe. It's a vegetarian cafe and I've been there a few times before. The food taste so homemade~ The full English breakfast, sandwiches, and CHOCOLATE BISCUIT CAKE are my favourites! The large full English breakfast can really makes you full. There's also a half one if the stomach is not that empty. The vegan version would give us a scramble tofu instead of scramble eggs. The scramble tofu on the toast is the highlight of this breakfast.

There are so many different combination of sandwich bread and fillings and sauce, suitable for people with different dietary needs like gluten free/ vegan, etc. Just create our own sandwich! I tried the sesame bagel with cream cheese and spinach. It came with side salad with sesame sauce, my favourite as well!

This time I tried the daily special - Chilli on a baked sweet potato^^ How can I not love sweet potato? Such a nice seasonal ingredient to enjoy.

I ordered the CHOCOLATE BISCUIT CAKE everytime if I'm having dessert. It's digestive biscuits wrapped with chocolate and served with a scope of vanilla ice-cream and chocolate sauce. And it's all VEGAN!

When we almost finished the meal, I introducing this cake to my friends excitingly. Then a waiter brought out a CHOCOLATE BISCUIT CAKE from the bar, and I was so excited and shouted "Look! Look! Look!" Strange thing was, the waiter use a plane to cover half of the cake...!? It was my birthday cake! There's a candle on it!

That's the most surprise birthday for the last few years, thank you all my dear =]

濃濃豆乳汁意粉

上次在廚房裡剩下的兩個半小時，大蕃薯到底做了什麼呢？就是這道豆乳汁意粉啦：

靈感源自一個很著名的英國飲食節目，有一集講到如何在家裡做出又簡單又美味的忌廉汁意粉，想想也好久沒吃過忌廉汁意粉，但又不想用雞蛋和牛奶，於是構思了這個簡單的豆乳汁意粉。這次重點介紹豆乳汁的做法，至於其他配菜就可以自由發揮～

材料：
各式意粉　　　適量
無糖豆漿　　　１杯／１６湯匙
亞麻籽粉　　　２～３湯匙
合桃　　　　　五粒

調味料：
鹽　　　　　　１～２茶匙
黑胡椒粉　　　適量
油　　　　　　適量
香草（可省略）少許

（一人份量）

做法：
１。用鹽水將意粉煮熟，熄火加蓋焗三分鐘。
２。意粉過冷河、備用。
３。豆漿加亞麻籽粉拌勻，靜置五分鐘。

４。合桃白鑊烘熟，切碎備用。
５。豆漿（３）加鹽拌勻。
６。用油將意粉稍稍煎香，加入少許黑胡椒粉。
７。傾入一半豆乳汁（５），快速兜炒直至豆乳汁收亁（約十秒）。
８。離火，傾入餘下豆乳汁，用餘溫拌勻至略為收乾。

９。上碟，灑上香草和合桃碎即成。


PS1　豆乳汁略為收乾就可上碟，不然上碟後會很乾身。
PS2　喜歡幼粒的話可以將合桃放入攪拌機磨粉。
PS3　喜歡檸檬清香的話可在豆乳汁裡加入少許檸檬皮。

亞麻籽是很有用的食材，可以代替雞蛋，做各式精緻糕點^^大家不妨多作新嘗試喔。
基本上［１湯匙亞麻籽粉＋３湯匙水就＝１隻雞蛋］
詳見貓紙：The Ultimate Vegan Baking Cheat Sheet

因為煮了很多伴碟菜，所以花了一個半小時......如果只做意粉和豆乳汁的話大概需要二十分鐘。
另外一小時用來洗碗和抹廚房> <"

Vegan Cream Sauce Spaghetti

Inspired by an English cooking TV-programme, I came up with this idea!
Last time I had creamy spaghetti was (really) a long time ago, and I do miss it! Now simply use soy and flaxseed to replace eggs and diary =]

Ingredients:
Soy milk (unsweetened)              1 cup/ 16 tbsp
Flaxseed grounded/ Flaxseed meal 2~3 tbsp
Walnuts                                 5 pieces
Olive oil                                  1 tbsp
Salt, Black pepper                      To taste
Pasley (or any other seasoning)      To taste
Spaghetti                                Up to you

Cooking time: 20 mins
(for 1 person)


 How:
1. Boil the spaghetti according to manufacturer's instruction. Better in salt water.
2. Mix well the soy milk and flaxseed for later use. Put it aside for at least 5 minutes.
3. Bake the walnuts until they turn golden, or you smell them =] Then, chop them into small pieces.
4. Add some salt (1~2 tsp) to the soy milk (2).
5. Stir fry the spaghetti in a pan with olive oil, add some black pepper.
6. Add half of the soy milk (4) and stir until the sauce almost dries.
7. Remove the pan from the stove and immediately add the remaining soy milk. Using the remaining heat from the pan, stir until the sauce thickens.

脆脆素肉鬆

星期六那天在廚房「玩」了四小時，做了這個可口的素肉鬆^^
這是大蕃薯第一次做，但也相當不錯喔！

大蕃薯參考了這兩個食譜：
健康省錢料理－－自製素肉鬆
豆渣大變身－－素肉鬆

因為屋裡沒有太多的調味料，所以一切從簡：
黃豆（乾）　一杯
芝麻　　　　三湯匙
紫菜　　　　適量
麻油　　　　兩、三湯匙
鹽　　　　　一茶匙
豉油　　　　兩湯匙
黑醋　　　　半湯匙
黑胡椒粉　　適量

約可做成一杯肉鬆（未加芝麻、紫菜）


做法：
１。黃豆室溫浸六至八小時，用攪拌機打成豆漿
２。將豆渣隔開，盡量擠乾，剩下的豆汁可煮成豆漿
３。用白鑊炒香芝麻
４。先用白鑊、中火炒豆渣
５。轉文火兜炒至八成乾（略為金黃色），加入油、鹽、豉油、黑醋，試味

６。最後加入黑胡椒粉炒至完全乾身
７。鋪平放涼，加入紫菜碎和芝麻

PS1 　素肉鬆要放涼才有香脆口感
PS2　這份食譜做出來的肉鬆稍咸，適合拌飯或包三角飯團，如果做小食就可不放鹽。
PS3　沒有麻油可用普通生油代替，但用麻油較香。油的份量可隨意加減，因為是自家製的所以少落油～


整個過程大概需要一個半小時。
那麼還有兩個半小時呢？嘻嘻，下回分解......

士多啤梨香蕉奶昔^^ Banana-strawberry Soyashake

Remember the banana milkshake from Lombardia?

Last night I was making one at home =]

It's spring time and strawberries are getting sweet and fresh now, so I added some. The cashew nuts (another most favourite nut) were added to enrich the texture! Or add your favourite nuts!

The soya milk was homemade as well. Using those from supermarket can work also.

Ingredients:

Soya milk　　　　　125 mL

Strawberries　　　　3

Banana　　　　　　1 (small)

Cashew Nuts　　　  10

How:

Just blend the banana and strawberries with soya milk + 5 cashew nuts for around 20~30 seconds and it's done! Crash some nuts and put them on top. Enjoy!

______________________________________________________________________


士多啤梨香蕉奶昔^^

材料：（一人份約250毫升）

士多啤梨　　三粒

香蕉　　　　一根（小）

豆漿　　　　125毫升

腰果　　　　十粒

做法：

１。香蕉、士多啤梨切粒，放入攪拌機。

２。加入豆漿、五粒腰果。

３。攪動二十秒，倒出。

４。另外五粒腰果磨粗粒放面即成～

很簡單的春天特飲。春天我來也～～