Pattypan squash and broccoli green curry

The past two weeks have been eventful and so nice. I've been on my autumn holiday and have had such great and relaxing time. First I took a trip with my partner to Oslo in Norway. We travelled on a cruise ship, which was quite nice for a change, and gave us the opportunity to see the beautiful fjords again. The weather was quite gloomy and rainy, but we still enjoyed the trip a lot. Then my brother came with his family to visit us in Copenhagen. It was also very nice to have family over and spend some quality time with them. My nephew loved the new Copenhagen metro so it was easy to entertain him. Otherwise I was just chilling at home and going for long walks in Copenhagen to admire the autumn colours. It was a good idea to take holiday at this time of the year.

Now to today's recipe. Thai curries are true comfort food for me, and they are so easy to make as tasty vegan dishes. I made this one inspired by the beautiful local produce of pattypan squash and tenderstem broccoli representing different shades of green. Naturally I wanted to make a Thai style green curry with them. I also used the Finnish oat block in this dish, which is like tofu, but made from oats. It's a really nice product and now also available in Denmark. Here is my recipe for a pattypan squash and broccoli green curry.

Pattypan squash and broccoli green curry

Ingredients

Green curry paste:

3 garlic cloves

2 cm fresh ginger

1 large green chilli

½ lime's juice

1 lemongrass stalk

Bunch of fresh coriander

Other ingredients:

½ pattypan squash

200 g tenderstem broccoli

1 onion

½ cup frozen spinach

160 g oat block or tofu

Vegetable oil for frying

1 can coconut milk

1 tsp palm sugar

1 tbsp vegetable stock powder

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 cup jasmine rice

Fresh coriander

Method

Put the ingredients for the paste into a blender and purée them into smooth paste. Set it to side. If you ever happen to make too much paste, it's also good to freeze and use later.

Cut the oat block or tofu into cubes and fry them in hot vegetable oil until they are golden brown from each side. Set them to side.

Chop the onion coarsely and start slow cooking it in a saucepan.

Peel and cut the pattypan squash into cubes and add them to the onion.

After a while, add the green curry paste to the pan. Soon after pour in the coconut milk and add the seasoning to taste and let simmer.

Chop the broccoli and steam the stems. Then add them to the curry. Also add the previously fried oat block pieces or tofu to the curry.

Cook the rice and serve it with the curry. Enjoy!

I'm sharing this recipe with this month's Eat Your Greens challenge, which is hosted by me in October and co-hosted by Shaheen from Allotment 2 Kitchen. October isn't over yet, so you'll have time to take part as well. Check out the full rules here.

Your VegHog

Pizza is life

I'm always in the mood for pizza, especially homemade variants, and I quite often bake pizzas at home. I would describe my homemade pizzas as “rustic”, as they are not perfect, just comforting and tasty, but not the best looking perhaps. If I eat pizza in restaurants, I often find myself ordering a Pizza Margherita, as I think that the true skill is in the basics.

Over the years I have tried to perfect my pizza dough recipe, but I think that there is still work to be done. I don't measure the ingredients when I mix them for the dough, but just make it by feeling and experience. Good dry yeast is essential for me when making the dough, and I have luckily found my favourite product. I prefer a thin crust, and a spelt and wheat mix for the dough, but lately I have sometimes been making a thicker crust. I mainly make a full baking tray rectangular pizzas, because I think that it's a more practical shape for home baking. I would only very rarely make a round pizza.

I collected pizza photos from a few months, and I'm sure you'll get the drift of my favourite toppings by looking at them. For me it's crystal clear that pineapple belongs on a pizza, and it is on most of my pizzas, sometimes tinned, sometimes fresh pineapple. Another favourites of mine as pizza toppings are olives, mushrooms, bell pepper, onions, and often instead of Mozzarella I prefer hearty Cheddar. That's why many of my pizza photos are rather orange. Cheese of course is essential for a pizza, and I like a double cheese pizza. I use different cheeses on my own pizzas: emmental, cheddar, mozzarella and sometimes a mix or even yet another cheese style. I think it's nice to use different kind of cheeses on pizzas.

I normally make the tomato sauce myself, just a basic garlicky sauce, preferably puréed smooth before spreading on the pizza dough. Sometimes I put a veggie ragout made with vegetarian mince on the pizza, or occasionally just fresh tomatoes instead of a sauce altogether.

Here are now quite a few pizza photos. I would love to hear what's your favourite pizza like, and do you make pizza often at home?

Your VegHog

Mushroom and Emmental sandwiches

I'm on my autumn holiday and having a great time. We already went on a small city break to Norway's capital Oslo earlier this week and saw the magnificent fjords again. Now I'm just taking it easy at home in Copenhagen and will attend a culture night event tonight. That is one of my favourite events of the year, when museums and other public buildings that may not be accessible otherwise open their doors for the public and have different events. Our first stop will be a railway control tower with a great view over Copenhagen and a champagne bar on the top. We should be there just on time for the sunset.

Some of my family members will also come over for a visit tomorrow and stay a few days with us, so I'm also shopping food and planning what to cook for them. Any ideas for 4 adults and one kid? The weather hasn't been the greatest, it's raining a bit again, but I'm still happy to have whole two weeks off work, enjoy the autumn scenery and spend time with family.

What could be a better way to start the day than with crispy and cheesy mushroom and Emmental sandwiches. I could eat this sort of sandwiches at any time of the day, and I often do. Now in the autumn it's so nice to use different seasonal mushrooms in the cooking, and the combination of mushrooms and Emmental cheese is just perfect. Here is my simple recipe for these sandwiches.

Mushroom and Emmental sandwiches

Ingredients

2 breads, rolls or baguettes

200 g closed cup mushrooms

2 garlic cloves

Salt to taste

Ground black pepper to taste

Fresh thyme to taste

1 tbsp olive oil

100 g grated Emmental cheese

Method

Slice the mushrooms and chop the garlic finely. Cook them in olive oil and season with salt, ground black pepper and fresh thyme.

Cut the breads in halves and brush a little olive oil on the cut sides. Place the mushrooms and cheese on them. Bake at 180C for about 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Your VegHog

In My Kitchen in October

My favourite season autumn is here! The trees are starting to turn colourful, days are shorter and mornings can be frosty. I just love it, as it's somehow so cosy. I also love all the seasonal food in the autumn. Here is a little peek to my autumnal kitchen.

Here is some of the lovely seasonal produce I've recently purchased: chanterelle mushrooms, corn cobs, tenderstem broccoli, cactus figs etc. I've also made a little pine cone and pumpkin display on the dining table.

I haven't bought that many new food items lately, but here are some: Yeast flakes and smoked tofu by Vantastic Foods. I find the quality of their products excellent and there is also a nice tofu character. 

I made a dessert with butter-pecan ice-cream and dark chocolate popcorn bites. It was a nice dessert, a bit more unusual, but very quick to make.

Here are some of my autumn dishes.

Vegan chilli with kidney beans and bell pepper, and sweetcorn rice

Creamy mushroom sauce with mashed potatoes

Fondant potatoes with vegan nuggets and steamed tenderstem broccoli

Red lentil and roasted bell pepper lasagne

I'm sharing this post once again with Sherry from Sherry's Pickings blog, who is hosting the In My Kitchen challenge.

Have a nice new week!

Your VegHog

Eat Your Greens welcoming October recipes

Welcome to Eat Your Greens in October! I hope that you will all share nice green autumnal dishes with us.

It's quite simple, just post a vegan or vegetarian recipe featuring one or several green vegetables on your blog and share the link in the comment section of this post below. Your recipe will then be presented in the round up at the end of the month. You will find the full rules for participating here.

Also go and check out my co-host Shaheen's blog. She hosted Eat Your Greens last month.

I look forward to seeing your creations!

Your VegHog

Chickpea, potato and cauliflower curry

Today is a big day in Copenhagen. After a decade of building work, the new cityring metro line will open. There will be a celebration with live music and the new driverless trains will start driving in the afternoon. We will also get a new station closer to our home, which is very exciting. We will try to catch a train from there later today. As an additional plus, public transport is free in whole Copenhagen today. It will be an exciting day. I can't wait to see the design of our new station.

But now first to this curry. I made a chickpea and potato curry with roasted cauliflower. It was quite a basic vegan curry with garam masala, carrots and spinach and I served homemade naan breads on the side. I though that the roasted cauliflower added a bit of extra to it and made it a bit more unusual. I decided not to share the recipe here, as the curry has just some basic ingredients in it. I have posted similar recipes many times.

Have a good Sunday everyone!

Your VegHog

Cactus fig juice

I started today in a very healthy way with morning exercise followed by homemade cactus fig juice. There were such lovely and colourful cactus figs at the market, and they were quite cheap as well, so I had to buy them again after a long while. They made a very nice juice with lime and ginger. Check out my method below.

Now I'm baking rolls for breakfast, and then I'll hit the town for some food, and perhaps clothing, shopping. The rain has cleared for now, so I'm hoping for a nice autumn's day. What are your weekend plans?

This is how I made the cactus fig juice.

Cactus fig juice

Ingredients

6 cactus figs

½ lime

3 cm fresh ginger

1 cup water

Method

Peel the cactus figs, and be careful while at it. They have actual cactus spines on them unless they have been carefully removed. It may be best to use gloves.

Also peel the ginger and put it in a blender with the squeezed lime and peeled cactus figs.

Blend and add water to taste. I added about one cup, but you might want to add more or less depending on how thick you want the juice to be.

Sieve the juice to remove the hard seeds of the cactus figs and enjoy.

Have a nice weekend!

Your VegHog