http://www.tohappyvegans.com/wordpress/uk-vegan-food-swap/
I love the idea of food penpalling. It seems a good way of exposing oneself to new foods, learning new cookery skills, and maybe even making like-minded foodie friends.
As a typical newbie I went for far too much which meant I spent 6 hours in the kitchen struggling to make the food I had planned to. It was rather epic, and not in a good way. Everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong. My trusty chocolate cupcake batter escaped from flimsy paper cases, the falafel wouldn't cook, the chocolate truffles recipe (pictured below) was actually a chocolate mousse recipe so I needed to save them by adding dates and nuts, and the hummus came out too garlicky (perfect for a garlic fiend like me just maybe not so for anyone else).
The falafel went so disastrously wrong that I am considering never, ever making them again. The recipe was a bit weird and, whatever I did, they just wouldn't cook. I tried baking them, as per the recipe. Did they bake? No. Then Daniel suggested deep fat frying them. What happened, I hear you say... They disintegrated. Finally, after re-mashing the mixture (yes, it did look minging) I gently fried both sides. They tasted OK, but only just. A few days after this unsuccessful attempt, my friend made some lovely falafel using a shop bough dry falafel mix and I would highly recommend it to anyone attempting to make falafel for the first time.
Anyway, I did my best to package it up, wrote a quick note and did my usual morning dash to the post office (why can't I ever leave on time?). Hopefully it got there in one piece, I haven't heard anything from my partner yet. Obviously I did not include the recipes in my note and I am not including any in this post because it all went a bit wrong.
On a positive note, when I received the parcel from my partner I was more than happy with it. I got winter-spiced parsnip crisps with chili, organic black rice noodles, rice paper, cranberry and sanguinello orange tea, a box of booja-booja chocolates and 3 home baked 'cheese' scones (pictured below).
Two things that are of note here. First, if you didn't already know what a sanguinello orange is, it is more commonly known as a blood orange. The word sanguinello comes from Italian.
Blood oranges may have originated in either China or the Southern Mediterranean, where they have been grown since the 18th century. They are now the primary orange grown in Italy. The anthocyanins which give the orange its distinct maroon color will only develop when temperatures are low at night, as during the Mediterranean fall and winter. Blood oranges cultivated in the United States are in season from December to March (Texas), and from November to May (California) (source: Wikipedia).
If you're into your cocktails why not give this a try? I wonder if instead of the blood orange juice I could use the tea I received from my vegan buddy, cooled of course.
Ingredients:
- 1 oz Campari
- 3/4 oz limoncello
- 2 oz blood orange juice
- blood orange wedge for garnish
- Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
- Shake and strain onto fresh ice in a highball glass.
- Garnish with a blood orange wedge.
http://www.boojabooja.com/
I have never cooked with rice paper or black rice noodles. I am planning on making some spicy green papaya rice paper rolls and/or veggie spring rolls. I love the sound of the carrot-ginger dipping sauce in the Martha Stewart recipe. Here are the recipe links:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/spicy_green_papaya_rice_38576
http://www.organicgardening.com/cook/vegetarian-spring-rolls
http://www.marthastewart.com/315105/spring-rolls-with-carrot-ginger-dipping
The noodles will probably end up in one of our usual stir fries, though I do like the look of these two recipes:
http://feedright4people.com/2012/01/08/black-rice-noodles-with-garlic-mushrooms-gluten-free-vegetarian-dairy-free/
http://thelemursarehungry.wordpress.com/2012/09/14/sichuan-spiced-black-rice-noodles/
So, what have I learnt from this experience? Two things actually. One, standing on your feet for 6 hours is not good for your lower back particularly when you're 6 foot tall and sport a bizarre posture. Two, when you're trying to impress someone with your food do not try something new, stick with what you know best!
Anyway, I think the idea of vegan food penpalling is a brilliant one and I am looking forward to choosing/making food for my next buddy.
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