The thrifty vegan

I’ve been seeing this claim on bus shelter ads for about a week now, along with some lacklustre photos of meatballs.
And I thought hell, I can do better than that: if it costs $10 to feed a family of 4 a few blobs of animal flesh, I can definitely do better.

The Thrifty Vegan’s Beet Curry

This earthy, warming dish is a lush velvety red colour and chock-full of bulbs, roots, legumes, dark leafy greens and wholegrains.

750g 4-bean mix: $2.60
810g crushed tomatoes: $2.59
300g baby brussel sprouts: $1.19
0.24kg brown onion: $0.71
0.31kg sweet potato: $1.23
Beets (bunch of 4): $3.98
1kg brown rice: $3.25

From the pantry:
splash olive oil
1 t minced garlic
2 t lemon juice
2 T curry powder
2 cinnamon sticks
2 t vegetable stock
water

Total (feeds 10): $15.55, or
$6.22 to feed a family of 4.

Granny-a-day keeps the blues away

I have always wanted a granny square blanket of my very own, having made a few for loved ones in the past. But, you know, other projects get in the way and you keep putting it off until another time…

Well, no more! Kylie’s post sums it up well: a granny-along is a great way to break up a daunting task into more manageable chunks. And so, chronically optimistic over-committer that I am, I’ve decided to plunge into the granny-a-day crochet-along being held over at Pip’s blog.

See you tomorrow!

More Wonder

The Wonder beanie has been featured on knithacker and Crafty Crafty. Thanks for the love, guys!

Speaking of wonder, these things have been putting a spring in my step and making me look at the world with new hope lately:

Wonderfalls: a funny, sweet and unpretensious gem of a TV show that aired briefly a few years back. If you can get your hands on the DVDs, I’d highly recommend it.

Vegetarian Food for Thought: Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s eloquent, passionate and inspiring podcast is not a secret to many, but it’s new to me. I can’t get enough of her warm generosity, humour and smarts. If you’ve ever been curious about the vegetarian diet, I’d encourage you to give it a listen.

What are you finding joy in lately; what’s making you feel happy and new?

sketty

It may not look like much, but this dinner was so damn satisfying: lentil rice balls from Vegan Lunch Box, steeped in a tomato & parsley-mint pesto sauce with zucchini, mushroom and capsicum.

I was a little dubious about the lentil rice balls when I first made them two nights prior with the best of intentions. You cook brown rice and lentils until soft, but I was preoccupied and they ended up undercooked and dry. Yay me.

I made up a tomato-based sauce for the spaghetti this evening, and placed the LRB into the sauce. Left them alone for 5 minutes, and when I came back they were transformed! My lame, dry, undercooked morsels plumped up and soaked up the juicy sauce like nobody’s business. This action resulted in a tender, hearty texture reminiscent–but not creepily so–of the meatballs my Mum used to make.

Try this recipe! It was very forgiving of my inattention and recovered admirably after I almost burnt the eponymous main ingredients. You cannot go wrong with this delicious dish.

Apricot & Peanut Butter Muffins

Peanut Butter Apricot Muffins

4 C plain flour
1 C brown sugar
2 T baking powder
1/2 C smooth peanut butter
2 C soy milk
1/2 t vanilla
1 C dried apricots, chopped

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (approx.400 F) and lightly oil a muffin tray.

Stir together flour, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl.

In a smaller bowl place peanut butter and microwave for around 20 seconds until it starts to get melty. Stir in soy milk and vanilla–it won’t combine well, so don’t stress about it.

Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir until just mixed.
Gently fold in apricot pieces. Spoon into prepared muffin tray and bake for 20 minutes or until cooked in centre.
Transfer to wire rack for cooling. Makes approx. 20 muffins.

Wonder

If you’ve ever wanted a bit of super hero strength, warmth or pizazz, here’s your chance to knit some up for yourself or the super hero in your life.

The pattern is now available as a free ravelry download!

For the non-knitters, the original hat available to buy here.

Calzone and prizes

For some reason I seem particularly drawn to the way each culture comes up with their own answer to the toasted sandwich: the quesadilla, the kebab, the calzone, the humble jaffle–I love the comfort, the portability and the prospect of a no muss, no fuss leftover lunch.

The calzone shown above was my first ever pizza made from scratch (using a lazy version of the Vegan Lunch Box recipe), and inside it is an amazing basil pesto from Vegan with a Vengeance. The pesto was almost too rich and creamy for this purpose, so next time I’ll use it more sparingly. Still, a great result for a first attempt. I’ll definitely be doing this more often.

Speaking as we were of comfort, thank you so much for your awesome descriptions on your favourite seasons–it seems I’m not the only one who loves fall/autumn!

I picked lucky-last commenter Marion’s name out of a hat (figuratively speaking; it was actually a bowl) and she will soon be receiving the lovely Knit It Up sock yarn. Enjoy!