QUICK MONDAY DINNER - HALLOUMI & AJVAR

This is a quick 15-min dish that I usually make a big pot of and bring to work the following days. You can sneak a lot of your daily vegetables into this.

They key is seasoning it with ajvar relish, which is a roasted paprika paste that you can get in most larger stores. The ajvar makes a really yummy combo with the salty halloumi.

If you want to make a vegan version choose firm tofu instead, but then add some salt when you fry it.

You will need:

-chopped/sliced vegetables - I have kale cabbage, carrot and onions. 

-1 jar of tomato-vegetable pasta sauce. You can of course make your own tomato sauce but then this is no longer a quick dish to make.

-1 250g pack Halloumi cheese

-Ajvar relish

 + Cauliflower rice (steamed grated cauliflower) to serve with, for even more daily veggie bonus.  Tastes good with any actual full grain rice as well, or a 50/50 combo of any rice and cauli-rice. Possibilities folks!

Fry the vegetables and halloumi in a separate pan, join in one pan and mix together with the pasta sauce and season with ajvar. I like it with 3 large table spoons. Serve on top of the rice of your choice, or mix it all together to a yummy (but less photogenic) mash!

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APPLES & GINGER

Do you still have apples from this fall? One of my favourite things to make of autumn apples is apple mash with ginger!

Apple mash is what we usually cook of apples around here; as in smoother than jam with bits and looser than a hard marmalade. 

I usually make one jar spiced with vanilla as well, but the ginger version is my favourite -just grate a little chunk of peeled organic ginger at the end of cooking the mash and enjoy a spicy treat that goes well as a jam on pancakes, porridge and peanutbutter sandwhiches (especially!) but due to it's taste also is a great add to salty foods like grilled tofu or meat.

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MUSHROOMS AND COFFEE

Buongiorno! I am still in Italy and hopefully eating some nice pasta or gelato (not or! AND) plus enjoying myself some wine. Meanwhile, for the rest of you, we have a throwback to a creamy mushroom pasta I did some time ago with walnuts and chive from the back porch. 
The chives were from the back porch that is. The walnuts were from Lidl. (The mushrooms however were almost from the back porch as well; porcinis my father-in-law picked last autumn.) 


My friend Dixie who has worked in many restaurants before gave me the advice to add a little bit of coffee to a mushroom sauce to bring out their taste and so I did, and so it did as well. Try it!
Otherwise this one took cream (I use oat cream), salt and pepper and garlic. 

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MANGO-LEMON VEGAN NO-BAKE CHEESECAKE

Lets start the week with some cake!

The other day I was a guest at a radio show where we talked about the usual things that I tend to visit various shows for, but also had some chit chat on different things, one of them being food.
But I can't really asnwer the question of weather I cook or not correctly. Perhaps a boring  'sometimes' is the right answer. Most of the time I just make what I can get away with quickly (and, as you may recall, due to how I work I most often buy something fast that I have in my car...sniff). But sometimes I do cook properly, and mainly tend to bake things. And I have a habit of not really following recipes, but rather get inspired by them, and often coming up with things myself.

So - here is a semi-raw, no-bake, vegan and  gluten free cheesecake without white sugar that I put together for Easter.

Ok, I know the above categories will make some go "blah" but for me the thing with making these "free of"-cakes is that they should be as yummy and sweet-tooth soothing as any so called conventional cake, and not a substitute. Plus, if it's breakfast worthy it's a bonus because, reaaaally, who would not want to have cake for breakfast?
(Ok, I actually know several weirdos who would answer with a 'not me' to that one but in my universe cake for breakfast equals awesomeness, mmmkay?)

The crust on this one is made with less nuts than usual for some variation, by using roasted buckwheat instead. I am normally not too fond of the taste of buckwheat, but when roasted it has pleasant taste and makes the crust more piquant.
The cake has a lemond curd-y layer in the middle, and a fruity cheese layer on top made with fabulous oat-based PåMackan cream cheese. (It's a great product; tastes just like the real thing!) If nuts are an issue you could try leave them out and use only sunflower seeds for the crust instead (in which case you might have to leave out the mid layer which is made mainly from cashews, or then make a lemon paste of something else). If this does not have to be vegan you can of course make the cheese out of regular Philadelpia or similar.  If the mango is very sweet itself you might not need any extra sweetener, depending on your preferences. I used some agave syrup. Coconut oil is used to firm the cheese filling, but sometimes I have made fillings using cocoa butter instead (but that is way more expensive and not something I have at home regularly).
The cake mold I use is 22cm, alas, if you want a higher creation then use a smaller mold.

Alright! As this is no-bake you'll manage without an oven. Apart from a kitchen mixer, here's what you will need:

For the crust -
1,5 dl  raw buckwheat
2,5 dl walnuts
1,5 dl sunflower seeds
175g dates (approx.), soaked for a while if dried and pressed
lemon zest
1 tbs oil

For the faux lemon curd paste-
4dl cashews
juice of 2 lemons
vanilla
sweetener of your choice

For the cheese filling -
1 mango
1 pack (150g) of På Mackan vegan cream cheese
a little lemon zest
sweetener of your choice
a dash of vanilla
2 tbs melted coconut oil

Dry-roast the buckwheat in a pan on mid-to high heat. Be careful not to burn them; move them around.

Put the buckwheat (I keep writing buckwhat. Like buck-WHAT? Haha) in the kitchen mixer and mix, adding first walnuts about a dl at a time and then the seeds, until you have a semi smooth texture. It's okay to leave a bit of crunch.

Add the dates (squeeze out excess water if you had them soaked) and mix, then the lemon zest and the oil. Press into a cake mold and put in the fridge while doing the rest.

Next step! Mix the cashews smooth, add the lemon juice, the vanilla, and a bit of sweetener. You will get a rather firm paste. Spread/press it out on the crust and put back into the fridge.

Time for the cheese filling! Mash the mango and mix it smooth with the cream cheese. Add the rest.
(At this point of the preparation I thought that my mind had fucked this up, because the luke warm mango-cheese mix did not taste good right our of the mixer. But fear not! It will be nice once it has cooled down!)

Pour the filling on the cake and put in the fridge for an hour or two (or freezer, if you want it quicker. Also, some decoration would porpably be nice, but I never got that far. Berries would be a good suggestion!). Then serve and enjoy!

Store in a sealed box if you don't eat all at once.

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MONDAY SOUP

When I don't "have anything at home" and need to cook dinner I tend to make this tomato-lentil-noodle soup. I still always have lentis, crushed tomatoes and coconut milk at home, and this one is ready in no-time. Double the batch of soup if you want this to be Tuesday-soup and Wednesday-stew aswell, it tastes just as good a couple of days later!

I think I've posted some version of this before but that was so many years ago so here you go again -

This soup takes:
1,5 dl red lentils
A handful of rice noodles (or noodles of your choice)
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1/2 - 1 can of coconut milk
Chopped garlic

(All measurements are approximate. I never measure. Not sure if it's even possible to fuck this up, you can have it more creamy or more tomaty if you like, everything works)

Cook everything together in the order above. Choose the amount of water yourself, depending on if you want your soup thicker or runnier.  Season the way you like - I always add garlic, preferrably a lot, and some chili powder or a bit of vegetable broth to the water. You could also add a little red curry paste or perhaps some grated ginger.

Serve with Sriracha sauce and garnish with fresh cilantro. Hemp seeds and/or salted peantuts on top makes this extra delicious.

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PIMP MY WATER / THREE WAYS TO FLAVOUR YOUR H2O

I have noticed that keeping a jug of water on the table with stuff in helps me get closer to the goal of drinking enough water during the day (as in opposite of having a jug with just plain water, or no jug at all). And even better, it also helps the kids and man in the house to drink more too, which is a big bonus. The water we get is good and tasteless, but a hint of berry or herb in it makes it more appealing none the less, and is also pretty to look at.

Here are three ideas on how to spice up your water -

Strawberries, cinnamon-basil and a dash of apple cider vinegar.
I came across cinnamon-basil in the store the other day but any kind  of basil will of course do.

Orange and rosemary.

My colleague Tink came up with this one: Pineapple chunks and fresh mint. Try it by putting the pineapple bits in the freezer for a while before dropping them in the water.

Enjoy!

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FRESH AND SOUR

Fennel is a vegetable which anis-like taste I sometimes crave for, and sometimes makes me go 'Uh, not now!'. It is however mostly the first option for me, and this easy-to-put-together side dish salad suits Easter well I think. It goes well with mild foods like eggs and rice to add some sour and piquant vibes, or middle along wiht some eastern dishes but also on top of a cheese sandwhich for example.

Fennel & Lemon salad
sliced or diced fennel
sliced cucumber
juice of a lemon
a bit of oil and white vinegar
black pepper

Just blend together in a bowl and you're good to go!

I use a white vinegar with black currant which gives some extra taste to the salad. If you want a spicier version you can add a little Sriracha sauce as well. And add some more oils and fine chopped cabbage if yo do,  but now we are going into totally different territories and salads already.

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FLUFFY GREEN SPRING SMOOTHIE

(because at this time of year, you can just name everything starting with "spring"-)

Apparently there's some gene that determines weather you like celery or not. Same goes for cilantro. (The source being solely "what people way" and the internet so I have no idea how much truth there is in that, but it sure makes a great excuse for people to use.) Good for me I seem to have neither of those genes, because I love celery - and cilantro as well, altough I did not put it in this smoothie, even though one surely could; it'd fit great.

Pineapple makes smoothies wonderfully fluffy. You can add one or two drops of apple cider vinegar as well if you want your smoothie a bit more edgy.

So, here we go:
Cloudy apple juice
Celery
Wheat grass
The juice of one lime
About a coffe cup of frozen small pineapple chunks

Woom! in the blender and there you have it!

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FOUR THINGS RIGHT NOW: LATE MONDAY EVENING

It looks like this when you open the door:

Which a) is just so wrong as it's only the 7th of November (yes, that is my sad frozen Halloween pumpkin under all that snow  -ffs this snow fell ONE DAY AFTER HALLOWEEN. So wrong.) and b) would be cozy would we be three weeks from now and would one not have to go anywhere.

I've been outdoors today, sadly, and driving home late at night was not very nice.

For the moment indoors is not that nice either. It's all full of boxes; we have pretty much emptied the city flat by now. Or, I have, suitably we had to move out the month when I'm alone in the blizzard while Eddi is in a sandstorm in a dessert in Iran for four weeks, doing stuff geologists do (in this case; teaching research methods). These boxes will empty one by one as we get some renovation done upstairs while others will be repacked to wait for future times and possible new flats. So now we a) don't have to have Christmas at our place this year or b) should have Christmas at our place this year as there will certainly be chairs and plates for everybody. Ha. Ha.

No but really, it will turn out nice here once we get it sorted out and renovated up. Just need a lot of money and spare time first, peanuts!

Talking about peanuts, made a big batch of quinoa snack bars/cookies/mush to munch on for the rest of the week - I  haven't made any of my usual vegan yummy-but-yucky-looking-stuff for a while so really had to restrain myself from eating too much at once of these. Which isn't that hard, as the raw bars I make are rather heavy; these however a bit lighter thanks to the quinoa. I've been eating so much chocolate and quick snacks lately as I'm on the move a lot and constantly, but now I'm hoping to get away from that a bit again and instead get my sweet tooth soothed and energy need fulfilled with better options (which I was better at before when I had a bit more time on my hands).

These bits took a blend of cashews, sun flower seeds, buckwheat (for a little crunch), dates, cocoa, coconut flakes, oats, coconut oil, a spoonful of organic peanut butter, cardamom and vanilla, liquorice flavoured sea salt and cooked quinoa; a mix on the recipe for the quinoa cookies and the raw bites that I usually make. Which reminds me; I should go and add some hemp seed on top!

Before calling it a night I still intend to finnish fixing a costume of mine that needs a few more sequins; heading over to Prague to perform and teach this weekend! Getting that costume work done is not so easy when the cat decided the dress was his spot tonight. But they blend together quite nicely, don't they?

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VEGAN SANDWICH BLISS

From the list of small things (or maybe not even that small in the end) that make me happy:
Going to the big super market after work at 10pm because
1) nowadays it is open that late because of free opening hours.
(It's so god damn great I tell you, for anyone that does not do the normal 9-5. Smaller stores have had longer hours for years but now any store can choose their hours themselves and all Prisma's are open until 11 pm for example. And if you live out in the middle of a god damn field like I 99% of the time do nowadays, you are thankful)
2) and in that store, although not in the centre of Helsinki, you can easily pick and choose out of several vegan options available next to any non vegan-or vegatarian one. You don't even need to find that one sad hippie-shelf in the back corner for your almond milk anymore, it's all centrally located and full with lots of different options! 2010's, yey!
3) I can thus have a classic sandwich with cheese and even maddafakin baloney on it, with chocolate milk on the side and it's vegan all the way.

I am not a self-declared vegan, but do I most of the days follow a vegan diet. Sometimes by planning my meals, sometimes more "by accident" as I am so accustomed to it by now. I was on a full-time-vegan diet for a couple of years over a decade ago, and the selection was so much different back then! There is so much more to choose from than Tartex nowadays!

I've never been too fond of vegan cheeses, often found them a bit yucky, but the VioLife one is as good as it's reputation - no funky side taste here. They even have parmesan which I want to try! And the pizza cheese. (And for anyone over here eager to try it: do so from the S-labeled stores, as the K-ones sell these to about double the price as the S-ones!!). The latest sandwhich filling I tried out was vegan baloney with green pepper (soy based). Something I haven't had on my bread for years and years! Also, on a side note: the vegetable breads by Fazer are great! This time I tried out the newest version which is Finnish dark rye bread with zucchini and parsnip. The veggie percent is over 30.

Here are my own favourite vegan bread-spreads, that also work as side dishes to any bbq or salad/meze buffet. And definitely worth trying and serving even if you or your guests aren't vegans or vegatarians -

Green Lentil Tapenade

A delicious picante mash of cooked green lentils, garlic and vinegar and some more stuff. A little (just a little) more detailed how-to with ingredients can be found if you click the link behind the name.

Vegan Liver Patée

I just love this one, and many sworn carnivores dig happily in to this without thinking of it's veeeeegan label. It makes a great ingredient in the best pasta sauce/lasagna filling evvah! Click the name for the recipe.

Ok, now I am hungry again.

(As usual, none of these were sponsored mentions, it's just me digging stuff. But it'd be awesome if they would be though, awesome for me at least. But alas, they are not.)

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