VeganMoFo

Maybe it’s the continued cold weather we’ve having here (why am I wearing a coat in September? Get it together, Australia), or maybe it’s my German heritage, but sometimes there’s nothing I want more than to load up on delicious European carbs while listening to the rain outside. And with MoFo-ers all over the world, the inspiration is almost endless!

Over at Melon Collies and the Infinite Sandwich (outstanding!), Kara is starting from scratch with her home-fermented sauerkraut. Hilarious descriptions of the process and its odours aside, this looks like the perfect starting point for some serious deliciousness.

And these sauerkraut and mushroom pierogi from Vegan Kitty Patrol look like the natural choice for that cabbagey goodness.

Kyleigh from the Good Karma Kitchen has the perfect hearty follow-up dish, with these tofu schnitzels– with pretzel breading, in true German style!

Over at the Vegan Kitchen of Dr Caligari, Luca has been making some of the most creative cupcakes (sweet and savoury!) that I’ve ever seen. It’s hard to pick a favourite, but these Sachertorte cupcakes with bitter orange jam and pistachios are calling my name today.

Of course, no German round up would be complete without Mihl’s classic German desserts at Seitan is my Motor. It’s not the first time we’ve featured Mihl’s decadent treats, but this theme has to be my favourite this year. Nougatringe were always a staple feature on my German family’s coffee table, so no late night beverages would be complete without trying to cram one of these into an already over-stuffed stomach.

Mmm, I’m feeling toasty warm and comforted already!

It may seem weird, but for me, mac and cheese is my quintessential vegan food. I’d never eaten it before I went vegan, and living in my opposite-side-of-the-planet bubble, I had no idea of its popularity in North America. But from having a look at my Pinterest or the scraps of printed-out recipe pages floating around my kitchen, you’d think I eat nothing else these days. What can I say- we vegans are just a creative bunch, and I can’t get enough of the different ways to make and eat this staple food.

Isa‘s BLT mac and cheese recipe was one of the first things I saw while checking Facebook on my phone in bed this morning, and part of me wanted to leap right up and get cooking. Eggplant bacon is a breakfast food, right?

Jackie over at Vegan Yack Attack has been cooking up a cheesy storm all month with her all mac, all the time theme. It’s tough to pick a favourite post, but I can’t say no to the glorious love child of two of my favourite foods, in her Mexican mac burrito.

Jojo has taken on the very important job of testing new mac and cheese recipes to find a favourite, as part of her Mac ‘n Cheese Mondays at Vegan in Brighton. This mac and shews reminded me that I need to make this one again immediately.

Elisa at Guy Gone Vegan is also tackling a month-long mac feast theme, and while I’ve loved every post, I actually let out an excited ‘WHAT?!’ when I saw these mac and cheese-stuffed jalapeno poppers.

Lastly, I was super happy to see one of my favourite themes this MoFo taking on one of my favourite foods. Laughfrodisiac has been veganising food from Friends (and yes, you’d better believe she made the not-so-traditional English trifle), and this time she played it a little safer with Chandler’s righteous mac and cheese. The perfect Thanksgiving food!

I know what I want for dinner tonight… now to narrow it down to one recipe.

No matter where you are, if you’re a politics geek like me then you’ll know that the sun rose on a pretty different Australia this morning. Last night was election night, and no matter how you feel about the outcome, there’s no denying that there have been some pretty major changes. In true Australian style, social media was abuzz- not so much with opinions about our new Prime Minister, but more about which polling station was offering the best cake stall or barbecue. So with the relationship between politics and a free feed in mind, I thought I’d see how some of my favourite blogging locals prepared for their election night.

Kate at The Spade and Spoon got passionate about foreign aid cuts (a girl after my own bleeding heart!) and reflected her views on the candidates by making these vegan devils on horseback appetisers.

Sandy from Vegans Eat Yummy Food Too put my junk food feast to shame with her healthy baked and blistered potato chips, as part of her great vegan bake-off theme. Perfect for watching the votes roll in on TV!

Keely has been preparing some amazing-sounding Egyptian food over at Gormandize this month. I’d probably been feeling a bit more chipper this morning if I’d had a pitcher of her orange blossom lemonade last night, rather than a case of beer.

Johanna from Green Gourmet Giraffe got deservedly outraged about the lack of vegan and gluten free options at polling booth sausage sizzles, and went home to whip up some sausages that we can all enjoy.

Linda at The Lentil Institution got through election night with the help of some healthy vegan comfort food– lentil burgers, baked potatoes and pumpkin with dukkah, and a rainbow salad… perfectly paired with a Coopers sparkling, of course. The beer helped Linda to look on the bright side, namely the re-election of a couple of great advocates for the ban on live animal export.

Lastly, Vegan in Melbourne embraced the election day sunshine and spring weather and put together these beautiful tofu rice paper rolls. I need to detox after my ‘eating my feelings’ binge last night and I can’t think of anything that looks more perfect than these.

Take care today, Australians! I think more than a few of us are feeling a bit delicate (read: hungover), so head outside for a pick-me-up beverage of choice in the sunshine. At least we’ve all still got that, right?

I can’t put my finger on why, but over the last few months I’ve become completely enamoured of the idea of canning things. Maybe it’s the danger (get it wrong and you could inflict the plague upon your family!), maybe it’s the promise of preparedness for any situation (no, I won’t share my canned peaches, neighbour who laughed at my zombie contingency plan), or maybe it’s just my deep-seated desire to leave everything behind and join the Country Women’s Association (vegan lamington, ladies?). Whatever the cause, I’ve been super excited to see some Vegan MoFo-ers sharing my enthusiasm for all things fermented and preserved this year. 

Bobbie at The Vegan Crew has got the whole process covered, from picking to preserving, finishing up with some homemade pear-based ‘honey’! Why bother the bees when you can make honey yourself? 

The Picky Vegan offers us a recipe for authentic kimchi, as well as some great recommendations for books about preserving and even the best kinds of jars to use. 

The fermentation gets a little more unexpected at Kohlrabi and Quince, where Kelly is fermenting… hot sauce? I have to try this! 

This apple thokku, or Indian cooked apple chutney, is a perfect candidate for canning- if you can keep yourself from eating it all immediately, that is. Check out Rithika’s great chutney theme at Vegan on the Prowl for some more inspiration! 

Kate at The Spade and Spoon has made a meal in a can with these smoky paprika baked beans (finally, I can enjoy my post-apocalytic dinner without other survivors asking me where I get my protein). 

And if you’re wondering what to do with all this canned food, besides looking at it and congratulating yourself for your self-sufficiency, it’s Tami at Vegan Appetite to the rescue. In addition to some handy tips for canning novices, she’s offering up some recipes using your own preserved produce. First up are these barley, beans and greens-stuffed peppers using home-canned Cajun tomatoes and harissa. 

Cooked too much in a MoFo frenzy? You know what to do! Can it, and enjoy the flavours of MoFo all year round!