Happy Sunday, my cuties! How are you? I know I haven’t been blogging much, but there has been a lot going on in the past months and now too – the phrase “Why am I doing this?” came out often in the past few weeks, both at work and in my personal life. Doing this Master’s degree is taking much of my free time and at work I get involved in many events and various projects: and I know that in the end, it is all positive, gaining more experience in a sector that I love, creating a bigger network and consequently also increasing visibility of the library where I work, meaning that more people will know about it and use it – it’s all positive. But it takes a toll on me, on my energy levels, mentally and physically. And every year, I tell myself that I won’t be dragged in any extra project or event and just “do my job”, but I believe that inevitably, if you are interested in your job, if you are passionate about what you do (which makes it easier to get out of bed every day to spend 8 hours at work), inevitably you’ll end up being involved in things to try and make that place better. Or at least this is what I am telling myself! Anyway, all this to say that I am quite fatigued and tired, was working yesterday and on Wednesday (my day off) I was doing a lot of “life-admin” like renewing all the various contracts, making an appointment with the dentist, going to see my osteopath, etc. However, you know how you get YouTube notifications for the channels you follow? I got the notification for this video by Merle O’Neill (if you don’t follow her, what are you even doing?! Joking, but really she’s lovely and so creative!) where she tests Viral High-Protein Vegan Meals from other food creators, and I tried two of them that are just amazing and helped me going through the week! Will definitely make more in the next few days 🙂

The first recipe is a high-protein Cauliflower Salad, originally made by PlantYou

Ingredients

• 1 head cauliflower, broken into florets
• 1 sweet potato, chopped
• 1½ cups chickpeas, approximately 1 can, drained and rinsed
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1½ tsp salt
• 1 cup quinoa, cooked
• 3 cups spinach
• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and chopped
• 1 cup cucumber, sliced
• ½ cup pickled red onions, optional
• 3 tbsp fresh dill, optional

Tofu and Herb Dressing

• 1 cup extra firm tofu
• 1 handful parsley
• 1 handful fresh dill
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 clove garlic
• ¼ cup water, or more as needed

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment. If you don’t already have quinoa prepared, cook it according to package directions at this time. 1/3 a cup of dry quinoa will typically lend 1 cup cooked. 
2. Place the chickpeas, onion, cauliflower and sweet potato on the sheet pan, and drizzle with oil, and then the spices. You can do this in a bowl for easier preparation, if desired. Roast for 35 minutes, until the sweet potato and cauliflower are slightly soft.
3. While the vegetables roast, prepare your high protein dressing. In a blender, combine the tofu, parsley, dill, nutritional yeast, salt, lemon, garlic and water. Combine until smooth, adding more water as needed to reach a desired consistency.
4. When the vegetables are roasted, place a bed of spinach in a bowl, and disperse the toppings as desired, with fresh avocado and cucumber on top. If desired, add pickled onions and dill. Drizzle on the high protein dressing and enjoy

The second recipe I tried was the Sweet Potato, Tofu & Chickpea Curry by SophsPlantKitchen

Ingredients

For the tofu:

• 300g block of tofu
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp nooch
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/3 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp lemon juice.

For the Roasted sweet potato, cauliflower and squash:

• 1/2 a large cauliflower, or a whole small one, broken into florets
• 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp coriander, 1/3 tsp turmeric, salt and pepper
• 2 large or three medium/ small sweet potatoes
• 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp coriander, 1/3 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 a butternut squash, seeds removed and cross scored
• Olive oil and salt on all of the roasted veg

For the creamy sauce:

• The roasted butternut squash flesh
• 30g soaked cashews
• 280g silken tofu
• 1/3 cup nooch
• Juice of one lemon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Black pepper
• Splash of water for blending

For the main body

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
• 1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted and ground
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• Pinch salt
• 4cm piece of ginger, grated
• 3 garlic cloves, grated
• 1/2 a red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (omit if you like less spice)
• 1/2 tbsp Garam masala
• 1.5 tsp coriander, 1.5 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tbsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon,
• Salt, black pepper and olive oil
• 120g grated fresh tomatoes or canned chopped tomatoes (about half a tin)
• 240g cooked chickpeas
• 1/2 a litre of veg stock
• To serve: coriander, nigella seeds, yoghurt

Method

1. Pre heat oven to 200c
   
2. Break the cauli into florets, chop the sweet potato into medium chunks. Transfer to a baking tray, cover in oil, spices and salt. Score and oil the squash, then place cut side down on another tray. Oil the other side. Roast everything for 30-35 mins until taking on a nice golden colour.
   
3. Soak the nuts in boiling water and set aside. Tear the tofu into irregular chunks. Add all the tofu marinade ingredients to the tofu and combine. Set aside in the fridge.
   
4. Chop all your aromatics, grate your fresh tomatoes and measure out spices. Toast the whole spices in a dry frying pan, then bash in a pestle and mortar.
   
5. Fry the whole bashed spices in olive oil for 1 min, then add the onion and a pinch of salt. Fry on a medium heat for 8-10 mins. Add the ginger, garlic and chilli, fry 3 mins more or until the raw aroma of garlic and ginger has subsided. Add the dry spices and some more olive oil, fry for 1/2 mins more, add the grated tomatoes and another pinch of salt. Fry until they turn a dark shade of red, about 5 mins. Add the chickpeas and stock, bring the heat up then reduce and simmer for 10 mins.
   
6. Take the sweet potato and cauli out the oven when finished roasting. Transfer to a bowl. Take the tofu out the fridge and transfer to the same baking tray. Bake for 10-15 mins, until the tofu is taking on a little char.
   
7. Take the squash out, allow to cool. Scoop out the flesh and add it to a blender with the other creamy sauce ingredients. Blend until smooth, then add to the spicy chickpea mixture, reserving a little for garnish. Stir through most of the roasted veg, saving some for decoration.

Enjoy!

Love,

TVCL xx

Hello cuties! I hope you are well and having a good weekend! This week went by very quickly, but it was also full of events: while on annual leave, I met with a friend and went to the sea, saw my osteopath for my neck and shoulders pain, attended the last virtual session of the academic year for my Masters course and then back to work. On my last day off, I went to the shop for some veggies and was tempted to get some bread, but then decided to make it myself so I made this Dutch Oven Bread by Tasty.co and it really didn’t disappoint: if you want homemade bread, but are put off from all the kneading, then this is the recipe for you because there is very minimal kneading involved and you get a great result!

Ingredients

• 2 cups lukewarm water (480 mL), between 90˚-110˚F (30˚-40˚C)
• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 4 cups all-purpose flour (500 g), lightly packed and levelled off, plus more for dusting
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

Method

1. Stir the yeast into the water and allow the yeast to bloom until foamy.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour and salt by hand. Once incorporated, create a small well in the middle and pour in the water and yeast mixture.
3. Mix by hand, wetting your working hand before mixing so the dough doesn’t stick to your fingers. The water and flour should come together and a form rough dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour in small increments, about 1 tablespoon at a time. If the dough is too dry, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
4. Once the dough comes together, cover and let rise for 1 ½-2 hours, until doubled in size.
5. Uncover the dough and give it a few pokes with your finger. If the dough has risen properly, it should indent under the pressure of your finger and slowly deflate.
6. Using your hand or a rubber spatula, start from the rim of the bowl to work the dough loose from the sides and fold it up and towards the center of the bowl. Turn the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat until all the dough has been pulled from the sides and folded towards the center.
7. Once finished, cover and let the dough rise again for another 1 ½-2 hours.
8. Once the dough has doubled in size again, gently transfer it from the bowl to a lightly floured surface.
9. Sprinkle a bit of flour on top of the dough. Using your hands, begin to shape it into a loaf. Fold the dough under itself several times to form a ball, then pinch together the seams of dough underneath.
10. Place the dough seam-side down in a clean bowl that has been lightly coated with olive oil and dusted with flour.
11. Cover and let rise for 1 hour.
12. Meanwhile, place a 6-quart Dutch oven (or heavy cooking pot with oven-safe lid) inside the oven. Preheat the oven to 450˚F (230˚C) with the pot inside for 45-60 minutes.
13. Carefully remove the pot from the oven and place it on a trivet or heat-safe surface. (Be careful! It’ll be VERY HOT.)
14. Turn the proofed dough over onto a lightly floured surface and carefully place it inside the pot.
15. Cover with the lid and return the pot to the oven.
16. Bake for 45 minutes, removing the lid for the last 15 minutes.
17. Remove the bread from the pot and let cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

I put almost half of the slices in the freezer so that I have nicely homemade bread whenever I want it.

Enjoy!

Love,

TVCL xx