Lille Taste of Indian

I finally got my drivers licence now yay :D (8 years after i could have had it :x)

The driving exam went pretty good, so thats great =p To celebrate me and my family went out to eat at an indian restaurant in Bergen called Lille Taste of Indian, located in Marken =p

I ordered the dish called Degree Channa, with chickpeas, mushrooms and curry sauce. It was served with rice =p They other ordered non-vegan food. It was yummy and had a spiced taste, but without being spicy. I would have liked it a bit more spicy though, but then again I'm kinda unfamiliar with indian food, so I'm not sure how it's supposed to be like xD Think I'll try something different next time though, because it was yummy, but not superyummy for my taste =p

It was a quite cosy place though, and the woman serving us was wearing an indian dress or sari or whatever it's called that was very pretty =p

We had a nice time together, and I like to go out and eat and test out new places and dishes, so I hope we will do it more in the future =D

Pink coconut curry with rice =p

Hihi i love when my food is colored, i should do it more often =D
I made pink coconut curry with rice for breakfast (i sometimes make dinner for breakfast), and i thought it was cute that it was pink, so i decided to post it =p The pinkness comes from the red beet that i added =D

I'm not gonna specify how much of each ingredient i used, and also if anyone wants to make this you can use other ingredients of course =p

Ingredients:
Onion
Garlic
Chili
Red bell pepper
Carrot
Zucchini
Red beet
Cabbage
Celeriac
Coconut milk
Water (i wanted it more liquidish)
Green curry paste (other colors are nice too =p)
Lime juice (i had a little remaining that i wanted to use xD)

Directions:
Chop veggies, stir fry them a bit, add coconut milk, water, curry paste and optionally lime juice and let it simmer for a while. Served with rice or anything else that sounds yummy =p

My dinner today - veggieballs

Today for dinner: veggieballs (from veg-veg.no *norwegian*) with salad, tzatziki and oven roasted cherry tomatos (on 200°C for i dunno how long xD). 

Quite yummy =)

Veggies with rice

My dinner yesterday was inspired by the chinese veggies with rice recipe i found at veg-veg.

I changed a bit on it though, so heres what i used (for 1 person):

About 0.5 dl whole grain rice
1 medium carrot in slices
0.5 onion in slices
200 g cabbage in slices
1 teaspoon fresh chili, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, chopped
0.5 dl water
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon maizena
5 almonds, chopped
1 dl bean sprouts

Boil the rice, chop the veggies, stir fry them in water or oil until bit soft. Mix together the water, soy sauce, maizena and add along with the almonds. Add the bean sprots and boiled rice and serve =p

Probably good with other veggies too, like mushrooms, bell pepper, mini corn etc =D

Onion pilaf

Today for breakfast i decided to make onion pilaf from my gourmet vegetar cookbook (page 185). It's actually more of a dinner recipe but oh heck xD

It was yummy so figured might as well put the recipe on the blog =p I did a couple of changes from the original recipe though, so heres what i did:

(1 person)
Ingredients:
0.5 onion (mine was maybe 0.75 but i guess it depends on the size), chopped
75 g rice
Ca 2,1 dl veggiestock (water + stock cube)
2 tablespoons frozen chopped spinach
50 g green peas (i used frozen)
1 teaspoon coriander
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

First i sauteed the onions in some veggiestock until they were soft, then i added the rice and the rest of the veggie stock and let it simmer until most of the water was evaporated. Then i added spinach and green peas and let it be on low heat until they all were ready. Then i added coriander and nutritional yeast, mixed and ate =p

Pretty easy and yummy =D

Broccoli risotto

Just gonna admit immediately, my risottoes arent made like risottos but like rice with veggies. I'm too lazy to add bit and bit with water and use special risotto rice, so i just add everything at the same time and use normal rice.

Oh well, heres the recipe inspired by the broccoli risotto at vegandad.

Ingredients:
0.5 onion
1/3 broccoli
0.75 dl rice
2.5+ dl water
1 bullion cube
0.5 ts oregano
Margarine/oil
Nutritional yeast (optional)
Salt and pepper

Chop the onion and saute it. Add the rice, then the water and bullion cube, followed by the oregano and broccoli in small pieces. Let it boil to water is gone, add more water if nessesary. When ready, taste with nutritional yeast, salt and pepper and some margarine if you wanna =p

Easy peasy

Here served with tomatoes with salt and pepper, and sauted mushrooms with salt and pepper and soy sauce.

Tortilla chips with rice dip

This happened one evening after work when i got home with a tortilla chips bag that i had bought since one of the recipes in my cook books (carrot dip) was calling for tortilla chips (and just for the record, i still havent made the carrot dip, and the tortilla chips bag is empty now :x).

Sooooo, i was snacking on tortilla chips with salsa sauce/dip/whatever until the salsa was empty, and then i started dipping in the leftover boiled rice of my parents dinner, and it actually worked out pretty well!! =D The crunchy salty tortilla chips went very nicely along with the soft, chewy rice. So if you ever have leftover rice and tortilla chips, its not a bad idea to mix them =p Maybe would be even better with salsa on top of it too xD Sorry for bad pic btw =p

Yesterday i went to doctor and checked my blood, seems my iron is lil bit low, but i've been kinda slacking with my healthy eating lately (or always), so mostly just eating bread with jam, fruits, snacks, more snacks, even more snacks, bunch of chocolate and nuts etc kinda every day >.>

My willpower is extremely weak ._. And weird thing is i'm too lazy for baking too, normally i baked cakes and stuff all the time (really, all the time, like, every day), and now i've barely baked something since xmas except for cookies when i went on trip, and some muffins i baked to use some blueberries, pineapple, lemon and orange. I followed this recipe a bit except for the obvious substitutions.

So in the back is orange-chocolatechip muffins (with bit lemon in too), to the left is blueberry lemon muffins, and in front is pineapple muffins. My favorite was the blueberry-lemon one with pineapple as 2nd and orange last.

Bean-rice

This is a yummy recipe that i sometimes make with beans =p I found it somewhere on vegweb some years ago, but i dont remember exactly how the recipe went and i dont find it atm, so here is what i did with possibly other amounts of ingredients =p

Ingredients:
0,5 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
Olive oil
1 bouillon cube+water
0,75 dl rice
Basil to taste (i think i use like 1-2 tablespoons)
0,5 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper to taste.

Saute the onion and garlic, add the water and bouillon cube and rice and simmer. Spice with basil and add kidney beans either while the rice is simmering or after, i dont remember what gave best result. Spice with salt and pepper and possibly add more olive oil, but i didnt have that =(

Tastes very good with tomato =p I also added some boiled potatoes in it this time since there were some in the fridge, and i served it with tomato and cucumber.

Broccoli burgers

I had some broccoli since it was cheap and since i wanted to make the broccoli burgers that i found on veganmisjonen her blog. This is a great way to get rid of leftover rice and broccoli (i mostly have problems with leftover broccoli that sometimes turns yellow/brown xD)

Here is the link to the recipe that i found on veganmisjonen her blog (norwegian): Broccoli burgers

For the english speaking people who follow my blog, here is a short version:

The ingredients i used was:
ca 1 small broccoli or half a big broccoli around 200-300 g, steamed (or boiled) and food-processored into small pieces (i tried in the blender first time, that didnt work too well xD)
ca 2 dl boiled rice (i think it is about 1 dl dry rice)
1 dl oatmeal
1 stock cube
Some oil
Some flour to make it stick better together

So i just mixed the ingredients, and shaped it into burgers and fried them =p

The first time i boiled extra much rice (with a stock cube in) to have next to the burgers as well, the 2nd time i used leftover rice for it.

The picture is from the first time i made them, the 2nd time i just ate them like snacks xD

The coolest part is ofc that they are green! =D

Rice Porridge

I earlier tried making vegan rice porridge by just replacing normal milk with soy milk, but that didn't work too well (specially since i didn't really like porridge in the first place after having it every Saturday since i was born xD). But then i found this recipe on the norwegian vegan-site and decided to give it a try, and i'm happy i did, since this porridge is very yummy! =D It taste sweet and creamy like rice pudding =p So it's better than the non-vegan one that i had for all those years @_@

Well here is the recipe copy-pasted and translated from here (norwegian): Rice porridge
All credits for this recipe goes to the author (i dunno who made it though xD)

Risengrynsgrøt

Ca. 5 portions

Ingredients:

5 dl water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2,5 dl porridge-rice (not fast rice)
4 dl cocnutmilk
7,5 dl sweet soya milk, for example blue Alpro (if you use non-sweeted soy milk you should add some extra sugar)
2 teaspoons sugar

Directions:

1. Boil water and salt. Add the rice and let it boil on low heat until the water is almost boiled away (about 15 minutes).
2. Add the coconut milk and soy milk. Let it simmer on low heat until the porridge have nice consistency (about an hour). It is important that the heat isn't too high, since the porridge easily over-boil or burn.
3. Add sugar. Taste if it's enough sugar and salt, and if it isn't, then add more. You can let the porridge stand some minutes before you serve so it thickens, but it you think it's too thick you can thin it out with some extra soy milk.
4. Serve with sugar, cinnamon and vegan butter.

Tips:

If you have leftovers you can make rice pudding! Whip some cream (for example GoGreens Whipable Oat Cream) and mix the cream with cold porridge. Serve with stirred berries or red sauce.

The spices in this dish makes it extra yummy ! =D (i spice it extra much! xD) (my bf didn't agree though, he don't like spices too much so i made rice for him too after but with just bullion and vegetables =p xD)

The recipe i found here on the norwegian meatfree monday site. It says they found it in the book “Worlds best vegetarian dishes” by Linda Fraser, Bladkompaniet AS. I will translate the recipe to english, if you want the norwegian recipe press the link =p I made some changes that i add in cursive, you can also use all frozen vegetables too =)

Vegetablepilaf

Ingredients
4-6 portions

• 225 g basmati rice
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (i use just normal cumin spice, not seeds)
• 2 bay leaves (i skip these normally since i don't have)
• 4 green cardamom seeds (i use normal cardamom spice)
• 4 cloves (i use cloves spice)
• 1 nicely chopped onion
• 1 carrot in small pieces
• 50 g frozen peas
• 50 g corn
• 25 g cashew nuts
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin

1. Clean the rice in cold water, have it in a bowl/pan and add water till it covers the rice. Let the rice lay in the water for 30 minutes. (Or skip this part if you are lazy xD)
2. Warm the oil in a pan and fry the cumin seeds for 2 minutes. Add the bay leaves, cardamom and cloves and fry for 2 more minutes. (If you use spice and not seeds, then you can skip this part also)
3. Add onion and fry it till its soft and light brown for about 5 minutes.
4. Add the carrot pieces and fry for 3-4 minutes.
5. Remove the water from the rice and have it in the pan together with peas, corn and nuts. Fry for 4-5 minutes
6. Add 5 dl water, cumin and salt. Cover it and let it simmer for 15 minutes till all the water is gone. Let it stand covered for 10 minutes before serving. (If you aren't hungry and wanna eat it right away =p)

I used frozen vegetables here (American mix) and over-spiced it a little =p Very yummy though! =D

Chana masala

Started to be a while since my last post now because i was a bit busy this week. I worked 4 days (normally i work around 2 days) and then its university too, so my days are kinda busy =p I like sundays though, they are nice to relax on ^.^ but often i feel they just fly away xD

Well, to the point of this post which is recipe of chana masala (i got pics from last sunday/monday when i made it, dont remember which day xD).

This recipe i found here on vegweb (english): Chana masala

Here is what i used, +- the same as if you follow the link xD

Vegetable oil
0,5 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
0,5 tablespoon curry
Some garam masala
0,5 - 1 dl ketchup
1 - 2 handfulls of chickpeas (i dont really measure, i just pour in, but i guess it is half a can or so)
0,5 box of coconut milk
1/4 - 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and fresh (black) pepper
0,5 tablespoon vegan margarin

Boiled rice to serve with.

Here is what i did: Fried onions in the oil until they were nice and shiny, then i added garlic, curry, garam masala, and ketchup. Then i added chickpeas, coconut milk, and lemon juice and let it simmer a bit. Then i added margarine and simmered some more. Then i add salt and pepper and served it with rice =D

I wanna make this today too! I love it! =D <3

Buljong rice with fried vegetables

Finally a recipe that i made myself and didn't "steal" from someone else their blog lol xD Was kinda kev (my bf) who made it first but i'll just say its mine (since i make it the most rofl xD)

It can be made with different vegetables btw =p Like this time i added cauliflower, but normally i use without =p


Buljong rice with fried vegetables

Rice:
Rice (normally i use 0,5 - 1 dl for each person)
Water (2* - 3* the amount of rice =p for 0,5 dl i used 1,5 dl water, but it doesn't have to be so accurate =p)
Vegetable buljong/stock =p (for making yummy rice =D)
Spinach (can be omitted =p i use frozen spinach btw for extra color of the rice, but kev doesn't like this so sometimes i skip the spinach =p xD)

Vegetables:
Potato (i normally use 1 medium one for each person)
Carrot (again i use 1 medium one for each person, or so the potato-carrot ratio seems nice xD)
Broccoli (i add so its nicely color with the potato and carrot xD i guess maybe 1/4-1/8 of a broccoli?)
Onion (i guess 0,5/person)
Garlic (1 clove/person xD i love garlic! xD)
Oil
Basil spice =p
Soy sauce

Procedure:
Boil the rice with the water, buljong/stock and the spinach if you want it greenish untill rice is ready (i guess most need 15-20 min, if water dry up before its ready then add some more water =p).
The potato should be boiled, i normally use the microwave for this: i remove the outer layer of the potato and stab it a bit with a fork, then i put it on a plate and in the microwave for like 15-30 sec on each side on medium to high temperature (i don't put it in water, so i guess boiling is a wrong term?).
Cut the vegetables in pieces (like 1 cm cubes or bit less maybe) and fry them in oil =p I normally add them like they come and not all at the same time, so first carrot, then potato/broccoli, and then onion when the rest is almost done, and then garlic last =p
When all vegetables are added, then i spice it a bit with basil =p (<3 basil!!) Then tadaaaa ready ^.^ Then i put the rice and vegetables on my plate and add some soy sauce on top, then nom nom nom ^.^

On the pics i have cauliflower too, so if you want this in as well then just add it with the broccoli =p