Safe food & Vega travel abroad

Safe food on the road abroad and traveling as a vegetarian

SPOTLIGHT: EXPERIENCES

Vegetarian travel and staying vega abroad - Bundle

To be or not to be a vegetarian while travelling

Although eating vegetarian for over 20 years (yeah, was one of those 8 years olds who realized killing animals is sad, and then never changed my mind), travelling is one of my main reasons to make an exeption. Although I was SO HAPPY in India for just being able to order ANYTHING (well, in most parts of the country and all veg restaurants of course). The exeption actually mainly is used when eating at family homes (I remember very well my Colombian host family taking me out to a Grill Restaurant (so sweet!), or when staying at a local project in the slums of Manilla where ''it was the one day a week when there was Fish instead of veggies on the menu). And there's still some European countries where eating veg is not always easy (have you tried local villages in France or just Belgium in general ;-). On my last trip to Guatemala and Belize however it was actually quite easy to look for veggies on the menu, so I guess travelling and eating no dead animals will become easier, though I will always prefer staying locally at a Family (and eating whatever great comes out of their kitchen), than making travelling about finding the 'right meals''. How about you?

Travelling in Ecuador as a Vegan

As a vegan who loves travelling, you've probably heard that it's impossible to do it if you want to stay healthy. Well, I'm here to change that view and give you some tips for travelling as a vegan in Ecuador.

When I went to Ecuador, I was doubtful about whether I would manage to stay vegan. I had been vegan for a year, and while it was rather easy in the Netherlands, I always thought that I would never be able to keep being vegan while abroad. Nevertheless, I did it with the help of some tips/tricks.

1. Cook yourself
The easiest and best way (if you can use a kitchen) is cooking yourself. There are so many delicious recipes that contain some meat, but it's easy to substitute this meat for beans. Check out the arepas recipe on my page for example. Arepas are totally vegan, and if you combine them with vegetables and beans, very nutritious as well. The plantain recipe is also a very easy recipe for vegans which can be combined with all kinds of things. Basically, you can cook anything you were used to cooking at home as well, just check the ingredients.

2. Eating out? Ask for something specific.
This might sound strange, but it works better than asking "do you have something vegan?" or "can I have this without meat?". These questions often lead to misunderstandings, or even more questions. If you ask for rice with salad, or rice with beans or rice with beans and avocado, you will get it. Of course, in bigger or more international restaurants you might get away with asking for a dish without meat, but if you're at a bus station, or a smaller town or just local restaurants, ask for a specific thing.

3. Look for vegan restaurants
Nowadays many places have some vegan restaurants, or restaurants with vegan options. Especially in the bigger and more touristic places in Ecuador (Cuenca, Quito, Otavalo, Banos, at the coast) you might have a chance of finding vegan things. For a start, in Tena, where I stayed for 3 months, is a great vegan restaurant next to Cafe Tortuga (which also has some vegan options). It is owned by a wonderful cheff and she makes just great dishes! In Baños there is a restaurant called Healthy Food which you can't find on Google Maps, but it is near Ponche Suizo and they have many vegetarian and Vegan options. Also in Baños is Zumo, a great restaurant at which they offer all kinds of dishes, also vegan, and if you ask they might even be able to make some adjustments to the non vegan dishes. But since Ecuador is a popular travel destination, you can find many options nowadays at more international restaurants.

Food at Zumo Vegan Streetfood

Hopefully, this can encourage you and aid you in your vegan travels! Also in the rest of South America! Let me know if you have any more recommendations :)

Cheers,
Hannah

Vegetarian in Japan: A guide to vegetarian (or vegan) travelling in Japan

Being a vegetarian in Japan is quite a challenge, let alone being vegan. However, it is far from impossible! Just like in many other places throughout the world, vegetarian food is becoming increasingly popular. While I was living in Kyoto in 2016/2017 I found quite some awesome vegetarian an vegan restaurants (want to know more, check out this blog). Similarly when I went to Tokyo in 2018, I found some great places as well. While it is still a bit difficult to figure out what you can and what you can't eat (especially if you're a strict vegetarian/vegan), there are some ways to make this life a little bit easier.

Learn the Language
First of all, it definitely helps if you know Japanese, of have a friend who can come along and translate. While it seems obvious, this is one of the biggest problems. Generally, Japanese people don't have a full understanding of what vegetarian or vegan is. So even if you say "watashi wa bejitarian desu" (I'm a vegetarian), it doesn't guarantee you'll get vegetarian food. An easier way to make clear that you're avoiding meat and fish is to say: "watashi wa niku to sakana wo tabemasen", meaning I don't eat meat or fish. Of course you can say this for other things as well, just mention the thing you don't eat followed by wo tabemasen (meaning don't eat) and it will help a lot.

But even if you say "watashi wa niku to sakana wo tabemasen", you still have to be careful of katsuo-dashi, this is fish stock and often not regarded as 'meat' or 'fish', therefore your meal might still contain this. The same is true for bonito flakes (fish flakes), cold katsuoboshi in Japanese. If you want to make sure this is not in your food either, you can for example say: niku to sakana wo tabemasen. followed by: "katsuo-dashi to katsuoboshi mo tabemasen".

For vegans it's a little bit more difficult. Of course you can metion all the things you don't eat, such as:

- egg: tamago
- cheese: chiizu
- milk: gyuunyuu

Get a dietary card
but be prepared to get some startled looks. There's an easier way as well. When I stayed at a hostel in Tokyo, they had these super useful dietary cards which said in Japanese what you could and couldn't eat. In this way you can just show the staff of a restaurant the card and then they can help you choose a dish. the website justhungry.com offers some options for cards for several dietary restrictions. Simply download them and show them on your phone. While these cards are useful, I prefer the cards on which you can circle your restrictions, such as the one provided by LiveJapan. They also show some common ingredients you should be aware of and ways to say you're allergic for example.

Get the google translate app
When you're buying food in a store it can also be rather challenging to find vegetarian/vegan options. While you can sometimes ask the clerk, or another shopper, this is not always an option. Google translate can come in real handy in this case. Since many places have WiFi nowadays, especially convenience stores (although it can be a bit of a hassle to acces it), you can easily use the app. By simply scanning an ingredient list with the app, it will give you an immediate translation of the japanese ingredients.

If you're not able to use internet or WiFi, you can also learn the kanji for the words important to you, or list them on your phone so you can check more easily. SurvivingnJapan also provides a great guide to reading food labels and the ingredients.

Be aware of ingredients/dishes
You don't have to eat at vegetarian or vegan restaurants all the time, there are still plenty of options at other places. However, there are some things to be aware of.

Sushi
When you go out to eat sushi, the obvious thing is to avoid fish sushi. However, other sushi options are less obvious such as sushi with fish eggs, sperm, or ground fish, but also the sushi wrapped in tofu pockets, they are almost always boiled in fish stock. Sushi you can eat/ask for are sushi with egg (tamago), cucumber (kappa maki), pickled daikon (oshinko maki), mushroom nigiri, okrah nigiri, eggplant nigiri, avocado onigiri, natto (fermented soy beans) maki, and some other options. So there's still plenty to eat.

Ramen
Unless ramen is labeled as vegetarian or vegan, it will highly likely contain meat or fish broth. However, more and more vegan and vegetarian ramen places are popping up, so don't fuzz, since you'll find some great places to eat. A very popular vegetarian/vegan ramen place is T's TanTan in Tokyo, as well as Sorainoro where they have one delicious vegan option. In Kyoto you can eat vegetarian (not sure if it's vegan) ramen at Mumokuteki in the city center and Mamezen and Vegans Cafe a bit further away.

Kushikatsu & Tempura
Kushikatsu in a great dish which you can find a lot in Osaka for example. Tempura is super delicious as well. While it is often vegan if you choose the vegetable options, the tempura batter can sometimes contain eggs, so be sure to check. The dipping sauce also usually contains fish, since it's often a mix of dashi and soy sauce. Sometimes you can ask for simple soy sauce (however, they don't always have it), or you can dip it in salt.

Udon & Soba
Udon and Soba noodles can either be served in broth, or in a basket with many sides. I would avoid broths since they are always meat or fish based (unless indicated otherwise of course). If you order the ones that are not served in the broth, make sure you order it withous bonito flakes. Also the dipping sauce if other a mix of soy and fish stock and sometimes additional things. However, the noodles come with several sides such as sea weed, spring onion, pickles and can therefore still be greatly enjoyed!

Convenience stores
While many things in the convenience store are not vegetarian/vegan, other things are. To start with: the onigiris. In the konbini you can find ume (pickled plum), seaweed, plain, red bean and corn-mayo onigiri which are all vegan, excepts for the last one. Furthermore you can find two types of vegan/vegetarian sushi. The vegan one is natto (which is quite a thing to get used to), the second one is a big roll with egg, vegetables and some pink grainy stuff that almost looks like fish eggs, this is vegetarian! Other things are things like Dango (rice balls), tsukemono (pickled vegetables), pre-made salads (they are in see through boxes so you can see what's inside), happy dates bars, nuts, edamame (soy beans), and more. If you want to know about more vegan dishes check out this great vlog by Currently Hannah.

Last but not least... Prepare!
Preparing is a big part of finding the best vegetarian and vegan places to eat. You can find information through the large amount of blogs and vlogs on the internet, which can help you greatly, and you can ask locals or hotel staff. The website happycow.net is also a good source of inspiration. This website lists all kinds of places with vegetarian and vegan food. Other than that, if you're having a hard time finding a vegetarian place wherever you are in Japan, a good alternative is to find an Indian restaurant. Indian restaurants are really popular and always have vegetarian and vegan options. They are very aware of what it means to be vegetarian or vegan so you're safe there.

Good luck! :)

Veganuary

Veganuary - the vegan month, veganuary. Are you in too? Get inspiration for recipes out of the book of Hiltl., the first ever vegetarian restaurant in Zurich sincs 1898!

130 keer gelezen

SPOTLIGHT: RECIPES

Vegetarian and vegan recipes from all over the world - Bundle

Chickpea curry (vegan)

My favorite 'fast food' as you can prepare this simple and delicious curry in less than 10 minutes (and most of the ingredients are probably already in your kitchen)

Put the chopped onion into a pan
After a minute or to add the chickpeas
Add spices (such as chili, cumin, ginger and black pepper)
Add chopped tomatoes
Let it boil for a few minutes until the tomatoes are mushy
Enjoy!

Add some fresh herbs if you like

Also nice to eat with some bread (pita, naan, chapsti)

Add veggies like zucchini, lentils or paprika if you like

Ready In: 10 min.

Ingredients:

One red onion
Chickpeas (300gr)
Tomatoes (4 or 5)
Spices (add as you like)

Delicious vegan ramen recipe

It's RAMEN TIME! :D

This is a Japanese ramen recipe that is delicious and suitable for everyone, also vegans. It is easy to make and you can create a different dish every time if you change the toppings. This recipe will give you the ramen stock, and some toppings I really like. In case you make the stock with mushrooms, add 1 hour to your cooking time. However, it's also delicious without the mushrooms!

1. cut the tempe/tofu and put it in a bowl with a bit of soy sauce and garlic.

2. cut the garlic and ginger into small pieces and heat it in sesame or sunflower oil for about five minutes on low heating.

3. now add the stock, soy sauce, mirin and if you use them, the dried shiitake or different type of mushrooms. Let it cook for about 5-10 minutes (the longer the tastier though), but in case you added dried mushrooms, let it boil for one hour before you continue with step 4.

4. prepare the toppings (cut them into smaller pieces if necessary).

- heat some oil in a separate pan and bake the tempe/tofu.

- boil some water in a separate pot, add the spinach for about two minutes, then drain the spinach with cold water.

5. add the noodles and cook as long as necessary, then turn down the heat, add the miso paste and stirr well (don't boil when the miso paste is in).

6. divide the stock and noodles over two bowls and add the toppings. I only use a little bit of pickled ginger in the middle because it looks very pretty but has a strong flavour. And you can sprinkle with sesame seeds.

7. Enjoy

Ready In: 45 min.

Ingredients:

sesame oil (or sunflower will do too)
4 cloves of garlic
1 inch ginger
Vegetable stock (i used two blocks), so about 1L
Two tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon miso paste (usually white, but I used red and it was tasty anyway :))
1 tablespoon mirin
about 150 gram ramen (depending on how hungrgy you are)
Optional: dehydrated mushrooms (shiitake)
Toppings such as:
tempe/tofu marinated and baked in a bit of soy sauce
1 spring onion
1 can of corn (200gram)
spinach (150-200 gram)
mushrooms
pickled ginger
sesame seeds

Easy vegan Shakshuka recipe

When I was in Budapest over the Christmas holidays, I had the most delicious Shakshuka! It reminded me of the time when to Israeli guys were making breakfast in a hostel in Japan and they shared some of their delicious meal with me.. However, at that time I wasn't able to remember the name of the dish... so it took me 3 years to finally figure it out, in the Jewish quarter of Budapest.

What is shakshuka?
Shakshuka is a traditional North-African/Israelean dish that can be enjoyed at every moment of the day. It is great for breakfast, lunch and dinner and is very easy to prepare.

While the dish usually comes with eggs cooked on top of the shakshuka base, I will leave this out in the vegan recipe. As a replacement, you can add extra vegetables, olives, tofu-feta (https://simpleveganblog.com/vegan-tofu-feta-cheese/, or just eat it as it is with some delicious bread.

While many variations of shakshuka can be found on the internet, the traditional verson is basically spiced tomate base with onions and garlic (and bell pepper), and eggs on top.

How to make Shakshuka?
1. You start with chopping the onions garlic, red pepper, bell pepper and tomatoes (if you use any) into small pieces.

2. Then you heat 3 tbsp. olive oil in a large iron skillot. Add the onions and garlic and saute them for a couple of minutes. Before the garlic turns brown, add in the red pepper, bell pepper, the spices and the salt and pepper.

3. Cook for about 5 to 10 minutes, but don't let it burn.

4. Add the tomatoes (if you use any), tomato sauce and extra vegetables/tofu if using any. Cook for another 10 minutes.

5. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.

6. Serve the sauce with some parsley on top and some delicious pita bread and/or salad on the side!

Ready In: 25 min.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp olive oil
2 large white onions
1 red pepper
1 bell pepper
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. paprika powder
1 can peeled and diced tomaties
1 tsp. tomato purée
salt and pepper to taste

Easy Vegan Yellow Curry

Yellow Curry is truely amazing, it contains a burst of flavour and warms you up in the cold days. This recipe is one of my favourites, it's not very difficult to make and still looks AWESOME also if you have friends over, so try it out! :)

1. Cut the vegetables

2. Put the rice to boil

3. Add the oil to a large pan, and when hot add the onion. Fry until translucent, add the garlic for about one minute.

3. Add the pumpkin, bell pepper and chilli pepper, followed by the coconut milk, vegetable broth and curry paste.

4. Let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes, or until pumpkin is tender.

5. Taste and add salt/pepper/soysauce (only a little bit!) if necessary

6. Add the lemon juice and simmer for another 2-3 minutes (you can also already add the cashews if you like them to be a bit softer, which is also delicious!)

7. Serve with the rice and put some spring onion and cashews on top for serving.

8. ENJOY! :)

P.S. If you want to make your own yellow curry paste, check out this recipe for example: https://pinchofyum.com/easy-homemade-yellow-curry-paste

Ready In: 40 min.

Ingredients:

600 gr. pumkin in edible pieces
1 lengthwice sliced red bell pepper
1 chopped onion
4 cloves of finely chopped garlic
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 chopped red pepper
400 ml coconut milk
250 ml vegetable stock (less or more for thicker/thinner curry)
1 lime
2-3 tbsp yellow vegan curry paste
Cashew nuts as many as you want
Optional: spring onion for garnishing
Rice for serving (75-100 gram pp)

Oldest vegetarian restaurant in the world: Hitl

The oldest vegetarian restaurant in the world: Hitl, and what kind! Founded in 1898, the meatless cuisine enjoyed little respect among the population. What a difference with today! When you go to Zurich, not to be missed. Inspiring, sincere, appreciative and mindful. I have never ever seen so many different choices of vegetarian food in one place, and really they all looked tasty, and I am a pescatarian, with not specific vegetarian preferences.

Recipe for Mango Curry Tofu (Vegan)

Vegan Mango Curry Tofu - Vegan Richa.pdf

Delicious vegan mango curry with tofu! Recipe shared by veganricha.com... :)

Spicy Korean ramen (vegan)

I absolutely LOVE ramen. It's one of my favorite dishes in Japan, and fortunately more and more vegan ramen places are popping up in the country. While ramen has its roots in China, because of the use of Chinese noodles, the Japanese have turned it into their own traditional dish. Originally the base of the dish consists of Chinese wheat noodles often in a meat or fish broth, but many variations exist throughout the country such as the famous Hakata ramen from Fukuoka, a milky ramen soup made from pork bones. Other popular, and vegetarian, variations of ramen are Shoyu (soy sauce), Shio (salt) and Miso ramen. As toppings, many ingredients can be used. Often used vegetarian toppings are green onions, boiled eggs, bean sprouts, fermented bamboo shoots, nori (dried seaweed), corn, shiitake and wakame.

Since I was craving spicy food while walking around in our local Asian supermarket, I decided to make my own spicy ramen noodles. I already made miso ramen a couple of weeks ago and while I love it, miso and japanese spicy don't go too well together in my opinion. So I had to think of something new. One thing I'm hooked on is the Korean Gochujang (red chili paste) which is great for bibimbap or spicy Korean rice cakes for example. Since I don't use it too often, one box of paste can last in my fridge for over 6 months, so why not create some more dishes with it!? It probably tastes great as a ramen broth too, right? So I got my veggies and wheat noodles and went home to cook some delicious ramen. I can tell you, it took me by surprise how amazingly tasty (and spicy!) it was :).

1. Cut the tofu into cubes and add the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, a bit of garlic (powder) and oil to it. Stir and let it sit for a while

2. Cut onion and garlic into tiny pieces and fried the onions for a couple of minutes before I added the garlic.

3. Add half a can of diced tomatoes and let it simmer for about a minute.

4. Add the dried shiitake mushrooms and the vegetable stock (don't add too much water since you don't need a huge amount of soup)

5. Combine the gochujang with the soysauce and hoisin (and some broth to make it easier to mix) and add to the broth. Add more soy sauce and/or salt if needed. And more gochujang if you want it more spicy! :)

6. Let it simmer for a while, while you cut the toppings and fry the tofu.

7. Now add the noodles to the broth and cook until done (follow the instructions on the package).

8. Put the noodles into a both, cover it with some broth and top with all your amazing toppings! For garnishing you can use some sesame seeds.

Enjoy! :)

Ready In: 30 min.

Ingredients:

4 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons gochujang
2 tablespoons soy sauce for broth
1 tablespoon hoisin for broth
1 onion for broth
3 cloves of garlic for broth
150-200 grams of ramen noodles
100 grams of tofu
1 tablespoon soy sauce for tofu
1 tablespoon hoising for tofu
1 tablespoon vegetable oil for tofu
green onions
corn
enoki mushrooms
8 dried shiitake mushrooms, cut in half
bean sprouts
or any other topping of choice!

Vegan Arepas

Arepas are corn pancakes/bread that can be eaten in all kinds of ways. If I understood correctly, arepas are mostly eaten like a kind of sandwich in Colombia (so cut open the arepa and put stuffing inside), while in Ecuador I mostly got it as a kind of thick pancake with other things on top.

Since I am vegan I try to find food that fills me up and gets me through a day of walking and sightseeing. This arepas recipe is perfect for this; it is super easy, very filling, healthy and most importantly super delicious. Of course, you can adjust the recipe to your liking, but here is the recipe the way I like it:

Ingredients for one/two people:

Arepas:

1 cup arepa flour (in the Netherlands I can only find P.A.N. but other brands are masarepa and harina blanca. Just look for 'pre-cooked corn flour' and if you're in a Spanish speaking country just say 'harina para arepas?' which means 'flour for arepas?' and they will help you.
1 1/4 cup warm-hot water
Pinch of salt
One Tbsp vegetable oil (sunflower)
Optional: other ingredients to add to the bread (I often add garlic or onion (small pieces) or paprika powder)

On the side:

1 can brown beans or kidney beans (400gr)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 small can of corn
1 onion cut into small pieces
3 cloves of garlic cut into small pieces
2 diced tomatoes (optional)
1 avocado (optional)
One tablespoon paprika powder
Chili (optional)
Salt (optional)
Oil

1. Cut the ingredients that you want to mix with the arepa flour into small pieces.
2. Mix all the ingredients for the arepas.
3. Knead until you get a ball of dough.
4. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes.

1. Cook the onions in vegetable oil for about 3-5 minutes
2. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute
3. Now add the can of beans, corn and can of tomatoes (optional: chili & salt)
4. Turn to low heat and let it simmer

5. Now shape the arepa dough to 1cm thick pancakes. You can choose the size depending on what you prefer.
6. Bake the arepa in a good non-stick pan with enough oil and turn over when the bottom is golden-brown (you can also semi-fry them by adding a lot of oil and adding the arepa when the oil is hot)
7. Put the arepa on a plate, add the bean mix and add some fresh avocado and tomato pieces

ENJOY! :)

Ready In: 30 min.

Ingredients:

Arepa flour
Warm-hot water
Brown-/kidney beans
Can of corn
Can of diced tomatoes
2 fresh tomatoes (optional)
Avocado (optional)
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
Salt
Vegetable oil (preferably sunflower)

Vegan chicken teriyaki

You probably know one of the most famous Japanese dishes; chicken teriyaki. It is a bit of a sweet and salty dish that goes great with rice. I have never been able to try it, since I never thought to make it myself, until my Japanese friend came over last week. Turns out, it is super easy! Now, we did not make the traditional Japanese chicken teriyaki, but we made a variation on it - with orange. This gives it a nice citrus twist, and a bit more fresh.

Mind that this recipe is with vegan chicken pieces, but if you cannot find those, you can replace them with tofu, tempé or even veggies (like green beans) for example.

1. Combine the four tablspoons (almost half a jar) of marmalade, sake, soy sauce and mirin and stir well.

2. Cut the onion in semi thick, half slices and fry them in some oil. Then cut the garlic into small pieces and add to the pan as well.

3. After about 2 minutes, add the chicken pieces and fry them untill they become a little bit golden on the outside. Now it is time to add the veggies if you decide to use them.

4. Add the teriyaki sauce and stir it in. Now let it simmer and wait until the sauce thickens. If you like thinner sauce, add another tablespoon of everything, if you want thicker sauce, you can add some cornflour.

5. Now add the sesame seeds and some spring onion for seasoning and serve with steamed rice - voila! :)

Please let me know if you enjoyed it!

Ready In: 30 min.

Ingredients:

160-200 gr. vegan chicken pieces
200 gr. green beans (opt.)
1 tbsp sesame oil (or other vegetable oil)
2 cloves of garlic
1 onion
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp cooking sake
steamed rice for two people
4 tbsp orange marmalade (check whether without gelatine)
sesame seeds (opt.)
spring onion (opt.)

(Vegan) Wellington recept

Dit jaar kon ik mijn familie niet bezoeken met Kerstmis, waardoor ik de verschillende luxe gerechten mis die verschillende familieleden zouden koken. Door de kerst zonder hen door te brengen, werd ik plotseling gepromoveerd van assistent-chef tot chef-kok.

Ik ben geen geweldige kok, en zeker geen geduldige. Ik hou van koken met minimale inspanning. Ik wilde echter iets speciaals doen voor kerstavond. Ik herinnerde me een recept dat ik op Instagram tegenkwam, een veganistische Wellington. Wat klonk als een perfect hartig (en makkelijk) gerecht voor Kerstmis.

Hoewel de auteur van het recept het een veganistisch recept noemt, is het belangrijk op te merken dat worchestersaus ansjovis bevat. Er zijn veganistische recepten voor worchestersaus online, evenals ideeen voor mogelijke vervangers. Het originele recept gebruikte iets meer champignons en iets minder spinazie, maar dit werkte prima voor ons!

Ingredienten:

(Veganistisch) bladerdeeg (Ongeveer 6 bladen)
300 gram champignons, fijngehakt
2 grote wortelen, fijngehakt
1 stengel bleekselderij, fijngehakt
100 gram verse spinazie
3 groene uienstengels, fijngehakt
50 gram gemalen walnoten
1 theelepel rozemarijn
1 theelepel zout
1 theelepel oregano
1/2 theelepel zwarte peper
2 eetlepels worcestersaus
Veganistische boter, gesmolten om te borstelen

Recept:

Verwarm de oven voor op 200 graden Celsius en pak het bladerdeeg uit om te ontdooien op een met bloem bestoven oppervlak bekleed met bakpapier.
Verhit olie op het fornuis en voeg gehakte groene uien, wortels en selderij toe. Laat een paar minuten koken.
Voeg vervolgens de gehakte champignons toe. Stel een timer in op 5 minuten en bak tot ze hun vocht afgeven. Champignons zijn erg nat en laten gedurende 4 minuten vloeistof af, waarna de pan droog wordt. Kook champignons tot de pan droog wordt.
Voeg kruiden, worcestersaus en spinazie toe. Kook tot de spinazie is geslonken.
Haal de pan van het vuur en roer de walnoten erdoor die tot een grove maaltijd moeten worden vermalen. Roer tot gecombineerd.
Verspreid het bladerdeeg over het bakpapier en zorg dat de verschillende vellen stevig aan elkaar vast zitten.
Giet vervolgens de veganistische wellingtonvulling in het midden van het bladerdeeg. Als je te veel vulling hebt, kun je er wat uitscheppen of meer koken om te vullen als je niet genoeg hebt gemaakt. Gebruik je hand om de vulling in het midden tot een brok te vormen. (Ik had te veel vulling en heb nog los 2 plakjes bladerdeeg gevuld)
Wikkel de lange zijden in elkaar als een cadeau. Bladerdeeg is veerkrachtig en kan misschien moeilijk plakken, gebruik dan je schone handen en maak je vingers nat met een beetje water. Als je het bladerdeeg nat maakt, plakt het beter.
Draai vervolgens de boven- en onderkant om totdat de veganistische wellington volledig is gesloten. Je hebt water nodig om de boven- en onderkant of het "korte" uiteinde van het bladerdeeg te verzegelen. Als je teveel bladerdeeg aan de boven- en onderkant hebt, ga je gang en knip er wat af voordat je vouwt.
Draai de veganistische wellington om en gebruik gesmolten veganistische boter of olie om de bovenkant van het recept

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Vegetarian falafel recipe with a Filipino twist

Filipino Falafel made with your senses

Really didnt know it was so easy to make your own falafel.... From Paulines Keuken. And I twisted it and made my own. I still miss the Philippines and a mango chutney is always good.

Actually I personally really like Pauline's recipes, since the recipes are easy, simple and tastefull. She has a lot of worldy recipes, from all over the world.

Check it out, the falafel, even though I cooked them (you only have to soak them, better for the climate and gasbill), no need next time.

Next time I will make a photo. Why I made it filipino is because all ingredients are easy to find in the Philippines and also very affordable and easy and healthy. Only advantages. In the Philippines people love to eat meat, so this might be inspirational to eat vegetarian!

Mango chutney: just get a mango, cut in pieces, fry in a pan with garlic, onion and ginger. All flavors will come out, when you fry it, put some lemon when you like a little sour and some pepper. It just have to be shortly on the fire, get the texture you like.... and it is done. It is called cooking with your senses, take the amounts you think are right and they are never wrong!

Happy to hear your comments, do you have worldly, easy-going, climate friendly, simple recipes to share?

Vegetarian in Japan: A guide to vegetarian (or vegan) travelling in Japan

For vegans it's a little bit more difficult. Of course you can metion all the things you don't eat, such as:

- egg: tamago
- cheese: chiizu
- milk: gyuunyuu

Good luck! :)

Cooking recipes from around the world and checking local eating habits - Theme

Crossroads: activities

Travel as vegetarian and vegan recipes abroad

Cooking international recipes and tasting local food abroad

SPOTLIGHT NL

Inspirerende vegetarische verhalen + recepten

Fairtrade bananen met chocola

Mijn absolute favoriet: Banaan met een laagje chocola !

Snijd elke banaan in 6 gelijke stukken en steek in elk stukje een prikkertje. Laat de chocolade au bain marie smelten. Dat is dus een pan die boven een pan hangt met daar heet water erin. Als de chocolade gesmolten is, doop je één voo één ded stukjes banaaan erin totdat ze helemaal omhult zijn met chcocola. Als je kokossnippers erop wilt doen moet je dat gelijk eroverheen strooien nadat je een stukje banaan uit de chocolade haalt, dan blijft het namelijk plakken. Heb je alle stukjes gehad? Zet ze dan eventjes in de koelkast (5 minuten is al genoeg) en smullen maar!

Ready In: 0 min.

Ingredients:

2 fairtrade bananen
100 gram fairtrade melkchocola (mijn favoriet is melkchocolade
maar het kan ook met wit en puur natuurlijk!)
e.v.t kokossnippers
(cocktailprikkers)

Quinoa recept!

Ik had nog nooit van Quinoa gehoord, maar toen in afgelopen zomer in Peru en Ecuador was, kon ik er niet omheen. Ze stoppen het overal in; soep, salades, enz. Heerlijk!

Tot mijn grote verbazing was het ook in Nederland te koop toen ik terug kwam. Hieronder volgt mijn lekkerste (en makkelijkste) Quinoa salade:

Quinoa koken volgens de aanwijzingen, daarna alles bij elkaar in een schaal, beetje mengen en smullen maar!

Ready In: 0 min.

Ingredients:

Quinoa
cherry tomaatjes in partjes
basilicum
citroensap
Feta kaas
(veld)sla
olie
peper en zout

Rijstnoodles (snel, gemakkelijk én lekker!)

Een ieder die in Thailand is geweest is hoogst waarschijnlijk verliefd geworden op de Thaise keuken. Of heeft op zijn minst genoten van die overheerlijk Pad Thai of Stir Fried Chicken. Toen ik in Thailand kwam wist ik al vrij snel: Ik wil hier een kookcursus volgen, dit wil ik ze thuis ook laten proeven! Zodoende kwam ik uit bij de kookschool 'Tom Yum Thai'. Eerst boodschappen doen op de lokale markt en vervolgens bij hen thuis koken. Een geweldige ervaring. En natuurlijk deel ik mijn lievelingsgerecht met jullie: Pad Thai volgens origineel Thais recept. Overigens heb ik ondertussen een véél gemakkelijker recept bedacht, die de Thaise Pad Thai ook aardig benaderd. Dus voor degene die wel van lekker eten houden, maar wat minder van koken: scroll lekker door naar beneden :-)

Hopelijk genieten jullie er net zo van als ik!

- Leg de rijstnoodles minimaal 10 minuten in water te wellen.
- Bak de groenten in een pan, bak vervolgens de gewelde rijstnoodles met olie in een andere pan.
- Wanneer de rijstnoodles beginnen te kleven, of wanneer ze glazig gaan zien gooi je ze met de gekozen woksaus bij de groente. Goed omscheppen en serveren met cashewnootjes en/of gebakken uitjes.

Met 15 minuutjes, een heerlijke gerecht op tafel.

Serveren met

- Cashewnoten
- Gebakken uitjes
- Kroepoek

Smakelijk eten!

Ready In: 0 min.

Ingredients:

Rijstnoodles (400 gram) (bv. Suree Rice Sticks - verkrijgbaar bij AH XL)
Groente naar keuze (bv. knoflook
ui
champignons
peultjes
paprika of een mix Japanse wokgroente)
Woksaus naar keuze (Als je de echte Pad Thai wilt benaderen kies je natuurlijk voor Pad Thai woksaus
ik kan de oestersaus ook erg aanbevelen)

Tanzaniaans recept voor een lemon cake

Tijdens mijn vrijwilligerswerk in Zanzibar heb ik een hele lieve vrouw ontmoet Rosie, met haar ben ik ook mee geweest naar de kerk van de Christenen.
Ook heb ik gevraagd of ik een keer een cake/taart bij haar mocht komen bakken, dat schijnt zij namelijk heel goed te kunnen.

Toen de dag eenmaal was afgesproken en aangebroken was het dan zo ver, ik ging een lemon cake maken!

Dit is wat je er voor nodig hebt:

1/2 kop boter
1 3/4 kop suiker
5 eigeren
1 kop melk
2 1/2 kop bloem
5 theelepels bloem
1 1/2 theelepel bakpoeder
2 theelepels geraspte citroen schil
5 theelepels citroen sap

Voeg dit allemaal samen en doe het net zo lang in de oven tot het mooi bruin is (+- 30 minuten) en smullen maar!
Het is echt een super lekker recept, ik heb het in het vrijwilligershuis al gelijk gemaakt en het staat op de planning om het zo snel mogelijk een keer thuis te maken, het is namelijk echt heerlijk!

Ready In: 45 min.

Dal Bhat

Dal Bhat met groenten.

Verhit wat olie in de pan en fruit hierin de ui tot het zacht is. Voeg dan de knoflook toe en laat even stoven. Laat dan de gember een minuutje meebakken.

Schep de linzen en kurkuma door het mengsel. Giet wat water over de linzen tot ze onder water staan. Dek af en breng aan de koop. Draai het vuur en laat het sudderen tot de linzen zacht zijn en het meeste water is opgeslorpt. Dit duurt ongeveer 20 min. In de tussentijd kun je de groenten curry maken. Breng het op het einde op smaak met zout.

Verhit de olie in de pan en bak de specerijen voor enkele minuten. Als het heerlijk gaat geuren kun je de groenten erdoor scheppen. Voeg wat water toe en laat het tien tot 20 minuutjes sudderen tot de groente gaar zijn.

Kook in de tussentijd de rijst zoals op de verpakking staat aangegeven.

Op het einde kun je de linzen en groente in een appart bakje serveren en eten maar.

Ready In: 45 min.

Ingredients:

• 1 gehakt uitje
• 2 geplette teentjes knoflook
• 1/4 theelepel geraspte verse gember
• 1/2 theelepel kurkuma
• 225 g rode linzen
• water
• olie
• zout
• 450 g gemengde groenten in blokjes (bijv. aardappel
aubergine
wortel)
• 1/2 groene chilipeper fijngehakt of 1/2 theelepel chilipoeder (of minder met kleine kinderen)
• 1/4 theelepel geraspte verse gember
• 1 theelepel korianderpoeder
• 1 theelepel komijnpoeder
rijst

Mexicaanse rijst met bonen

Altijd handig om bij de hand te hebben voor een snel succes voor vrienden of vrijdagen

Ingrediënten

4 eetl olie
400 gram rijst, lange korrel
1 ui gesnipperd
1 groene paprika in stukjes
1 theel gemalen komijn (djinten)
1 theel koriander
1-2 theel tabasco
zout
8 1/2 dl bouillon
450 gram rode kidneybonen uitgelekt en afgespoeld
450 gram tomaten, grofgehakt
gehakte peterselie

Bereiden

verhit de olie in een diepe braadpan
doe de rijst erin en bak deze tot hij iets doorzichtig wordt
voeg ui , paprika ,komijn en koriander toe
laat dit nog 2 minuten zachtjes bakken
doe tabasco ,zout , bouillon en bonen erbij en breng alles aan de kook
leg het deksel op de pan en laat de rijst zacht koken to hij gaar is en het vocht geabsorbeerd
haal de pan van het vuur en schep de tomaten erdoor
laat de pan gedurende 5 minuten afgedekt staan
maak met een vork de rijst los, bestrooi de rijst met peterselie
(geserveerd met tortilla's is dit een hoofdgerecht met vlees, gevogelte of met enchilada's is dit een bijgerecht)

Materialen

diepe braadpan

Ready In: 30 min.

Ingredients:

Rijst
Ui
Paprika
Komijn
Koriander
Tabasco
Kidneybonen
Tomaten
Peterselie

Goedkoop studentenrecept: linzensoep!

Een lekkere & stevige linzensoep voor een budget prijs. Daarnaast bevat het recept ook maar 410 calorieën!

Snijd de bleekselderij in boogjes. Verhit de olie in een soeppan, pers de knoflook erboven en fruit 1 min. Doe de bleekselderij erbij en bak 2 min. mee. Voeg de tomaten toe en duw met een spatel in stukjes. Voeg het water en de bouillontabletten toe en breng aan de kook. Laat de linzen uitlekken.

Voeg de pasta toe en kook de soep met de deksel op de pan 8 min. op middelhoog vuur. Voeg de linzen toe en verwarm nog 1 min. Breng op smaak met (versgemalen) peper en eventueel zout. Schep in de kommen en bestrooi met de kaas.

Tip: hoe meer schelpjes je in de linzensoep gooit, hoe steviger de soep wordt. Het wordt dan meer een pasta dan een soep maar dat is ook heel lekker

Ready In: 20 min.

Ingredients:

½ struik bleekselderij
1 el olijfolie
1 teen knoflook
400 g gepelde tomaten
375 ml kraanwater
1½ groentebouillontablet
200 g linzen
75 g schelpjespasta
40 g geraspte jong belegen kaas

Groene risotto

Snipper de ui en verhit in een pan met dikke bodem olie. Bak de ui in 5 min. op heel laag vuur glazig. Snijd de courgette in blokjes en schep de risotto en courgette door de ui. Bak dit mee tot alle rijstkorrels glanzen.

Prepareer de bouillon volgens de aanwijzing op de verpakking. Roer een kwart van de bouillon door de risotto en laat zachtjes koken. Roer het geheel regelmatig. Voeg telkens als de bouillon verdampt is een flinke scheut water toe, totdat de risotto na ca. 25 min. romig en beetgaar is.

Rooster kort in een droge wok de pijnboompitten en laat deze op bord afkoelen. Verhit ondertussen olie in een wok en pel de knoflook en pers deze boven de wok uit. Voeg de spinazie toe en in 5 min. laten slinken. Schep af en toe om. Neem de wok van het vuur en breng de spinazie op smaak met Italiaanse kruiden, peper en zout.

Roer de laatste minuut spinazie door de risotto roeren en warm nog 1 min. mee. Schep de risotto in diepe borden en schep kaas en pijnboompitten erover.

Ready In: 30 min.

Ingredients:

400 gr risottorijst
50 gr pijnboompitten
2 uien
1 courgette
zakje Parmezaanse kaas
2 tenen knoflook
2 blokjes kruidenbouillon
olijfolie
400 gr spinazie

Eetstee

Dit weekend weer lekker uit eten geweest in DE EETSTEE in Amersfoort, echt een aanrader. Het is een vegetarisch restaurant (ook veganistische gerechten) en maakt gebruik van biologische en veelal seizoensproducten. Heerlijk!

Vegetarisch door India

De kleuren, aroma’s, smaken en verschillende texturen springen je tegemoet vanaf je bord en vanaf de eerste hap ben je direct verkocht. Een reis door India is een culinair feestje. Een greep uit onze vegetarische favorieten.

De veelzijdigheid van India proef, zie en ruik je direct terug in het eten. Zoveel verschillende regionale gerechten, ieder met zijn eigen specifieke bereidingswijze en ingrediënten. Vegetarisch eten is hier de norm: overal zie je vegetarische restaurants. Is een restaurant of gerecht niet vegetarisch, dan staat er duidelijk bij vermeld: ‘non-veg’. Vanaf dag één besloten wij dan ook vegetarisch door India te reizen en onszelf hieraan te houden.

Een uitdaging? Geen moment. Het is een traktatie om hier groenten te eten en de manieren waarop het bereid wordt, daar kunnen wij alleen maar van leren: gedroogd, in een sausje, gefrituurd, geroosterd, gekruid, gevuld, gebakken en gepureerd tot een overheerlijke chutney die weer als dip wordt gebruikt voor verse chapati’s. Wij simpele Hollanders gaan vaak op zoek naar typische vleesvervangers (bijvoorbeeld wokblokjes of groentenschijven van Valess), omdat we anders misschien ‘iets missen’ in onze gerechten. Hier hebben wij vlees of vis werkelijk geen moment gemist. Prettige bijkomstigheid is dat vegetarisch eten enorm in de portemonnee scheelt.

**Onze favoriete vega gerechten (willekeurig)

Paneer Butter Masala: blokjes ongefermenteerde witte kaas in een romige saus. Ook in India een delicatesse en daarom niet overal verkrijgbaar en wat duurder dan de rest (ca. Rs 120 = € 1,50)
Mushroom Masala: hetzelfde principe als bovenstaand, maar dan met champignons!
Kashmiri Biryani: kruidige gestoomde rijstschotel met vruchten (o.a. banaan, papaya, mandarijn), noten, rozijnen en kokos.
Veg. / Egg Fried Rice: Barts favoriet. Een simpele maar overheerlijke gebakken rijstschotel. Vaak het goedkoopste en eenvoudigste gerecht op de menukaart maar o zo lekker.
Masala Dosa: Grote, krokante dubbelgevouwen crêpe, gevuld met kruidige aardappelen en groenten.
Thali: Traditionele all-you-can-eat schotel met allerlei lekkers: witte rijst, chapati’s (kruising tussen pita-broodje en pannenkoekje), papad (soort flinterdunne taco) dahl (linzencurry), groentencurry en enkele vaak pittige sausjes.

Tenslotte, een boekentip:

Dieren Eten van Jonathan Safran Foer. Aangezien we graag bewust willen blijven van ons eetgedrag, zijn we dit boek momenteel aan het lezen. Vegetariër of niet, het is een aanrader voor iedereen die wil weten hoe bio-industrie in elkaar zit en wat er eigenlijk op je bordje ligt.