G/F Potluck and Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

I can't believe it has taken me so long to blog about this potluck, but I have had a few distractions like getting super close to handing in my thesis and trying to put together a journal article submission, finishing up at two different offices (I've got a new job) and of course doing all of the cooking/housework, I miss your cooking Toby! To say things have been hectic would be an understatement. I'm also trying to complete the couch to 5km running plan, anyway enough whinging, just please excuse me if I'm not super attentive to your blogs for a little while.

Anyway, the potluck was awesome, it was so good to be able to eat everything and I didn't get sick afterward so no-one accidentally poisoned me :-) Several of the bloggers have already blogged about it including: Steph (twice), Cindy, Michael, Vicki (twice) and Johanna. As many of the other potluckers have pointed out, the original theme was cheese but changed to gluten free when I tested positive to coeliacs disease but some people did both themes.

I made blueberry iced rooiboss tea

Toby made goats cheese from vegan soiree, I've never had goats cheese before, but didn't like this at all, it was too sour for my liking. The texture was more like a loaf as a few people commented.

To make up for it, I tried to make another 'cheese' using this recipe from rawmazing at the last minute. This also didn't work out very well either, but I didn't soak the cashews.
The one dish that I was proud of was the blueberry cheesecake ice cream, the recipe is from a vegan ice cream paradise and was thick creamy and pretty damn yummy:

Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

2 c. Silk soy creamer (I used soy milk)
1 c. vegan cream cheese
¾ c. sugar
1 T. lemon juice
½ c. soy milk
2 T. arrowroot
1 t. vanilla

1 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/8 c. sugar
splash lemon juice

Combine soy creamer, cream cheese, sugar, and lemon juice in a saucepan. Heat and mix contents. It will take some whisking to break up the cream cheese and get it to dissolve. While heating, combine the ½ cup soy milk and 2 tablespoons arrowroot and set aside. Once the pan’s contents are boiling, take from heat and add soy milk–arrowroot mixture. The liquid should thicken quickly. Add vanilla extract. Set aside to cool.

Combine blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Heat until boiling and some blueberries have burst. Set aside to cool.

Freeze cream cheese mixture according to ice cream maker instructions. Add blueberries 5 minutes before end of freezing cycle.
Now on to the other dishes.

Cindy made raspberry coconut ice cream that was amazing:


Ivan made these healthy sweet balls that were made from dates and all sorts of other healthy things but were also yummy.

Vicki made sweet and moist carrot cake cupcakes
and "Cheese" and spinach rolls, Toby is so jealous that he didn't get to try one because I keep raving about them


Bec made a peach or pear pie, I forget but it warm and creamy



Craig made gluten free potato cakes because I keep telling him I have missed them and I have been craving more since then, so so so awesome!
Carla made a rice salad with sun dried tomatos, smoked tofu and all sorts of other lovely flavours and cupcakes which I didn't get a pic of.
Jo made pate and it even had a jelly layer on the top, so fancy and yummy and olive tapede. I want the pate recipe Jo please!
Shawna made brownies, so rich and delicious!!!!
Johanna also made brownies but made pumpkin cheesecake brownies, so unique and delicious:

Anikee made Italian rice and beans from vegan yum yum one of my favourite dishes and quinoa salad, or did someone else made the quinoa salad?

Michael made "colby cheese" and vegetarian sausages, I never thought I could eat another veg sausage and was super relived to find out that g/f versions exist:

There was so many dishes I didn't get pics of like the caramel slice, that was so amazing and Steph's delicious nacho cheese dip because I was too busy eating and eating and eating and eating. Thanks everyone for making it an inclusive potluck for me, it meant a lot!

Mamasita

Toby is still pretty housebound but can now travel as a passenger in a car, to celebrate we decided to go the much hyped Mamasita.

It was probably not the best place for someone who has to be careful that he is not knocked into. They don't allow small bookings and so on a sat night, it was packed, when we arrived there was no free tables but we could wait at the bar, I was so nervous while we sitting on stools that in the super busy restaurant that someone would knock into him, but thankfully we weren't there that long before we got a table.

Toby was excited by the fact that they have Coldstream Cider on tap ($5.4/$8) and an "epic awesome booze list". He couldn't drink so he had a fresh grapefruit juice ($5) and he can't wait to try the Grapefruit Margarita.

Now Mamasita automatically gets my thumbs up in one regard, it's all gluten free, and after talking to the staff it appears that most of the veg selections can be made vegan by removing the cheese (quesco fresco). I ordered the black bean and cactus tacos, the pickled cactus tasted like pickles, I couldn't really pinpoint any specific flavour. The black beans, didn't appear to be spiced and weren't quite as delicious as black beans that I have had as trippy taco or other mexican places.
Toby had the truffle quesadillas with truffles, mushrooms, corn, and epazote(mexican herb). He said it was delicate, delicious and really unique. (sorry for this pic, it was really dark)And we shared the quinoa salad. It has fresh corn, coriander, spinach and a typical vinaigrette type flavour but was yummy. Toby was very impressed and said it was fresh and full of flavour.

We also shared corn chips with salsa and guacamole. The guacamole was awesome as Toby keeps reminding me again and again but as I said to Toby it's pretty hard to muck up guacamole. The salsa had a quite a kick to it, so much so that Toby found it too hot. The corn chips were varied, some had the typical crunchy corn chip texture but some felt under cooked and too hard.

Overall though I enjoyed the meal, Toby loved it a lot more than me. I think part of the problem for me was that it was over hyped so I was expecting amazing and it was good just not amazing. I really heart trippy taco and it was hard not to make comparisons even though they are quite different. You get proper table service at Mamasita and it is kind of fancy, also the meals are more varied and interesting but in my opinion not necessary tastier. Also, the mains weren't really filling, so the bill end up being close to $50 with 2 non alcoholic drinks and the cheap skate in me kept asking is it twice as good, and my answer would be no. Toby on the other hand disagrees and thinks they use super fresh ingredients and the other veganisable dishes look promising. I do look forward to trying more dishes to find out.
If you are going to go I recommend going early to ensure you get a table, by the time we left the bar was full and there was a line from the front door on the ground floor up to the restaurant on the 1st floor with people waiting to get in.

Mamasita
Level 1, 11 collins st
Melbourne
9650 3821
www

Las Vegan's revisited and Ciders

When I was in the hospital, the amazing Kristy bought me food from Las Vegan for lunch and Trippy Taco for dinner.

We looooooooooooove Las Vegan. When I used to have days off during the week, I went there for lunch very often. Kristy could, however, rarely go there as they only opened during lunch from Tuesday to Friday.

They started serving dinner on Thursday and Friday from July last year. It is a good news for Melbourne Vegans but the cafe is sometimes a bit empty when we are there for dinner. I hope they can get more dinner customers as they are working extra hard for us.

We ordered the satay rice balls with gourmet salad, sloppy Joe on rice, with gourmet salad and chips to share. (sorry, the photos are too blurry, so just use your imagination)

Sloppy Joe is my all time favourite dish. It is made of TVP and chopped mushrooms. It tasted good as a burger filling and topping on rice. They make TVP calzones as well. They are very yummy but not gluten free though.

The satay rice balls were freshly made, served with homemade satay sauce. The super-crispy rice balls are kind of like risotto balls but made with brown rice.

They are now serving Henry of Harcourt vegan cider on Thursday and Friday too. I haven't tried it yet but I heard lots of good things about it.

Talking about vegan cider I've recently tracked down some Coldstream Apple Cider from Blackhearts and Sparrows. It is delicious, vegan friendly but so bloody strong (1.8 standard drink in a stubbie). I enjoyed it on rocks. They are $4 a pop or $20 for a six pack. You can also enjoy it on tap at Mamasita, a new vegan-friendly gluten free Mexican restaurant.

Weston Organic Perry cider is also awesome. They are pretty pricy in Melbourne. I bought the 500ml bottle for $7.8 at Carwyn in Thornbury and I guess it is the best deal you can get.

On my walkman:
Alopecia - Why?

Kristy said that the gluten free potluck and lots of other posts are coming up soon.

Monk Bodhi Dharma and Toby's Operation

On Friday night last week Toby found out that he would be going in for an operation on Monday morning, we guessed it would be a while before he could eat out and so decided to make the most of the situation by eating out a lot last weekend. The first place he chose was the relatively new veg cafe- Monk Bohi Dharma. Based on the name and the menu on their website I was expecting a hippyish place but instead found this hipster interior:
Toby was a little bit more aware as he had heard about their coffee, he ordered a 3/4 soy latte which he was said was up there in quality with seven seeds coffee (his fav). I ordered a gluten free orange and almond muffin, it was delish, incredibly moist and had a sweet orange glace on top. Anyone who does a vegan g/f muffin gets my thumbs up.
We shared the christian and moore stew from the lunch menu which consisted of black beans, veggies and rice with homemade mango chutney on top, the stew was very tasty and had a rich thyme flavour and you could actually feel the mango pieces in your mouth. Between sharing the muffin and the stew I was full. I had the genmachai tea- japanese green tea with roasted rice, it was awesome.
The breakfast menu consists of things like toast with feta and avocado and bircher muesli that don't appear to be vegan or gluten free friendly but as the waiter explained most of the breakfast options can be adapted to be vegan and a few can be made g/f. The lunch menu on the other hand tends to be mostly g/f and vegan. I think it's worth crossing the river for.

Toby has come out of the hospital and is fine now but won't be able to cook, do any housework or much else for about 6 weeks so you might not being hearing from us as frequently.

Monk Bodhi Dharma
Rear 202 Carlisle St, Balaclava
9534 7250
www

Tart N Round Closing :-(

I got the email in my inbox today informing me that:

Tart'n'round Cafe closing

Tart'n'round cafe/restaurant will be closed as of Monday the 1st of March. Come in this Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, for a meal and stock up on our yummy sweets , ice cream and vegan cheese.

Tart'n'round will continue to wholesale the yummy balls, biscuits, slices and ice cream.

If you have any inquiries please go to the website otherwise we will see you this week
I thank all of you for your support and patronage

Kind Regards
Andrew Schubert

And I seriously wanted to cry. The last time I was super sad about a cafe closing was when vegetarian orgasm closed but this is worse. Being able to go to one place and knowing that I can eat everything, that everything is both gluten free and vegan was just awesome and incredibly rare. Especially after being accidentally fed gluten at a vegetarian restaurant, and eating the horrible and possibly not vegan food at a gluten free cafe. It's where I felt safe as a new coeliac and I can't express how relieving and important that has been! It's also the first and currently the only place where I have found cereal that is filling, tasty and had the right amount of crunch. Please please please wholesale your cereal!

cereal-buckwheat kernals, nut clusters and lots of yummy dried fruit

Also, the savoury options just kept on improving. There served FILLING and pretty well priced gluten free food which tends to be expensive. I could go there and gets regular things like a gluten free burger and a pizza and feel less like a freak (I had a post coming up about my most recent visit but can't find the pictures). And they introduced me to flat gluten free bread. Plus I was going to have my birthday celebration there next month, I wonder if they will still make me a birthday cake even though that's really not wholesale business. I know a few people who thought the desserts were too over the top and unhealthy, but they were my type of dessert- rich, decadent and so delicious.

I think it makes me a little angry too because the owners are really nice, and I've noticed the smaller places like this and Las Vegan (who everyone begged to be opened in the evenings) are often empty in the evening yet large impersonal places like vegie bar that serve pretty average food are always super busy.

I'm going to squeeze in one or two last visits this weekend and stock up on cereal and other things, so please don't buy the last packet of cereal.

Thanks for listening to me rant!

Go Max Bars, Red Skins and one sweet blogger

In my last gluteny days, the very thoughtful Mandee (who I have never actually met) sent me some Go Max bars via express post so I could try them. They are unfortunately not gluten free due to one small ingredient- malt powder. I got to try one of each of them before I started eating gluten free, and here are my thoughts:

These pictures below are taken from the go max foods website because 2 of my bars didn't make then home in time for pictures :-)

Each chocolate bar is coated in rice milk chocolate, so even those crazy dark chocolate haters can enjoy them.

The Mahalo bar reminds me a lot of a bounty bar except it also has peanuts nestled amongst the coconut and top chocolate layer as you can see in the pic. (Toby pointed out Mahalo means thank you in Hawaiian)


The jokerz, was my favourite, it has roasted peanuts, caramel and nougart and reminded me a of a snickers bar.


The twilight, is super caramely, and also contains nougat.

The Buccaneer, reminded me of a milky bar, with it's simple but delicious nougat.


Thanks Mandee, it was incredibly sweet of you! You can read her post on them here. Now Go Max, please please please try to make them gluten free, or even just one gluten free version. They are available at the Cruelty free shop.

In other lolly news, Lidia alerted me to the fact the individual sized red skins and toffee apples lollies that you might find at a lolly shop or servo are in fact vegan. I found them at the lolly shop at Northland. But for some reason the smaller version that comes in a packet at the supermarket are not vegan. Now I just need to go back and check if they are gluten free. If you are interested in vegan food updates like this or know of other interesting vegan food updates, I created a facebook group called Aussie Vegan Food Updates.

Gluten Free potluck reminder and info

I'm having a gluten free vegan picnic potluck this Friday in Brunswick at 7pm. If you are interested in coming then email me at inthemoodfonoodles (at) (gmail) (dot) (com) and I will send you the details.

Also a reminder that wheat, oats, rye, barley are NOT gluten free. Also gluten sneaks its way into all sorts of unsuspecting food items and MAY be in your soy milk, spices, mustard, vinegar, soy sauce (Braggs and Tamari are fine), corn starch, icing sugar, and lots of other items. Also, spelt is NOT gluten free, neither is malt. Surprisingly though, under Australian food law, glucose, glucose syrup and caramel colour are "gluten-free", even if derived from wheat, as the wheat is so highly processed, there is no gluten detected. I found this list kind of helpful. If in doubt just drop me an email. If you check every single tiny ingredient though you should be fine though.

Also, it would be awesome to bring copies of your recipes, so that I can double check items just in case and hopefully add a few more amazing gluten free vegan dishes to my repertoire.

Hope to see you there!