Mushroom Steak & Sweet Mashed Potatoes

It has been a long time since my last post. I haven't given up writing... is just that everything came over me after coming back home. But here I am again;) And here are my Mushrooms Steaks and Sweet Mashed Potatoes;)
For the mushrooms steaks you need (VegNews, p. 57):

- for the marinade: 1/3 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup marple syrup, 3 T shoyu, 1/8 t black pepper
- 4 (portobello) mushrooms, destemmed.
Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl. Submerge the mushrooms in it and allow to marinade for at least one hour. I let it for 6 hours... it's worth;) Put everything together in a saucepan and cook for five minutes.

For the Sweet Mashed Potatoes prepare one big potato, 2 T soy cream, 1/2 t ground nutmeg, 1 t dill and salt. Peel and cook the potatoes. Mash them, add all the other ingredients and mash again;) Serve with mushrooms steaks.

Sweet Greens with Fresh Tomato

Being in NZ allows me to enjoy all summer things, including all fresh summer veggies. It's amazing having two summers in a year;) As I have quite enough of pasta, I bought some milet. BTW in Nelson I also found an organic shop (http://www.organicgreengrocer.co.nz/), it's not 100% vegetarian, but they are quite well stored. And they are the main reason why I prepared the Sweet Greens with Fresh Tomato;) I bought: a small onion, avocado oil, 120 g green beans, 70 g milet, 1 tomato and fresh herbs. Of course you need some salt.
Cook the milet. Meanwhile chop the onion, heat the oil and saute the onion. Cut the beans and add them to the onion after some minutes. When the milet is cooked add it to the beans. Stir well. Then the tomato, fresh herbs and salt come. Stir well and enjoy it with a local NZ's ginger bear;)

Peas Noodles

Although I had noodles three day in a row while tracking, it really appealed to me today to have them again. Human beings are sometimes really strange, aren’t we? However preparing noodles is one of the simpliest thing in the world. For the Peas Noodles I just boiled the water, put the noodles and the dried vegies in it (you get a little sack of them in the noodles’ package). Tol enrich a bit, I add half of the peas from can and some cheese. Well, typical backpackers I’d say;)

Kumara Mussaka in Christchurch

Remember what is a kumara? It’s the special NZ’s potato, which is a bit sweeter than the regular one. So why not use it as any other potato in recipes? We decided to make a Kumara Mussaka. We bought: 2 large kumaras, 1 large eggplant, 250 g silken tofu, 150 g cheese, oil (this time we used the avocado oil), nutmeg and herb salt. Preheat the oven at 200 C. Cook the kumara until soft and cool it. Peel it and sliced it into 0,5 cm thick slices. Meanwhile slice the eggplant into slices of the same thickness, season them with salt. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the eggplant. Slice the cheese into thin slices (use the slicer;) and mash the tofu with some salt and nutmeg. Assemble the mussaka in a 30 cm round baking tray. Start with half of the eggplant, than a third of the cheese, half of kumara and half of the tofu mixture. Repeat this ending with cheese on top. Bake for 20 minute. … and enjoyed it with some authentic NZ’s merlot;)

Quick Mushrooms Goulash

Mushrooms are quite often on my home menu. Observing the local groceries I’d say that the same applies for NZ. If the shiitake and the porcini mushrooms are often on our plates at home, here the Portobello mushrooms are a must. I really don’t know why our shops don’t sell them. However, the last evening in Queenstown was very suitable for a Quick Mushrooms Goulash. I filled my shooping basket with some olive oil, a big onion and a lot of Portobello mushrooms. The cooking part is really simple: chop the onion, heat the oil and saute the onion for at least 15 minutes. When making a goulash make sure that you saute the onion very well. Slice the mushrooms and add to the onion. Cook for another 10-15 minutes. Season and serve with polenta.

Destination Organics

As already told one of my must in a city is to visit a vegetarian restaurant and/or organic shop. In Queenstown I found Destination Organics (http://www.destinationorganic.co.nz/), which is both - a shop and a small caffee/restaurant. The shelves were filled with all kind of delicious food, from fresh veggies to Italian imported red pesto. After some quick shopping (of course I’d buy everything if I was at home;) we tried their special salad and the natural plate. The salad (picture on the left) was a mixture of lettuce, coleslaw, really great avocado, tomatoes, hummus and lentil salad. On the other hand the Natural Plate (picture on the right) offered us the opportunity to taste the home made bread with fresh veggies and some dried fruit. Both were good, but I preferred the salad plate more.

Zucca Pizza in Queenstown

After four days of dry food and more than 60 km walking we decided that is time to have a pizza. Although I can have pizza at home, I didn’t have any objections to have a Zucca pizza at a restaurant in Queenstown (btw Zucca in Italian means butter squash). I have never eaten or even thought to have butter squash on my pizza. But I have to confess that it tasted pretty good. So the butter squash was baked in oven an put on the pizza with feta cheese, olives, red peppers, spinach and tomatoes. It tasted delicious and I’m determined to do a bis back home;)

Noodles in NZ's mountains

One of the must in New Zealand is to do some trekking or how they say it here - tramping. When planning the trip, we were looking for the Milford Sound track in the South Island. Unfortunately we were not able to book it as you have to do it at least one year in advance. After some brief reading on the net we took the decision to do the Kepler track, which is also located in the Fiordland (also South Island). Further research showed that things in NZ’s mountains are a bit different as in my home country. As a salesman in Wellinghton said to us: ”You are spoilt!” He was refering to the fact that in most of the European mountains’ hut you can buy food and beverages. Of course the menu is not like in the restaurant, but you can have at least water, tea, coffee, beer and some soups, pasta etc. Well here things are different. Beside the commodity to book the hut on-line, that’s it. If you want to eat something while tramping, you have to bring everything with you. As we were not inclined to have dry food for four days we had to buy a stove and some cooking pots adapted for tramping. The most “complicated” dish we made were noodles in a soup;) To have some variety we cooked every day a different soup: tomato, mushroom and thai vegetable soup;) Let’s say I have enough noodles and instant soups for a while;)

Kiwis’ Xmas BBQ

Kiwis are big on BBQ and the main thing they do on Xmas is going to the beach or just outdoor and have a BBQ. So being for Xmas in the Kiwi land is was necessary also for us to have our own BBQ. Of course ours was different than the traditional Kiwis’ as we didn’t include any meat. Instead we grilled plenty of vegetables, including aubergines, pumpkins, peppers and the best of all Portobello mushrooms. I simply seasoned them with herb salt and olive oil and grilled them until tender. The big salad wasn’t absent, this time I garnished it with a local nut and spice dipping mix called “Roasted Dukkah”. It consists of brasil nuts, cashews, hazel nuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, herbs, spices and salt. For the dessert a local chocolate I bought in Greytown - lime chilli dark chocolate (see www.chocolatetherapy.com).

Althoudh I have been traveling for nearly a month now I’m still impressed that you can find cappuccino with soy milk nearly everywhere. Today I was practically at the end of the world in Milford sound, but I still got my big soy cappuccino with cinnamon topping. Incredible;)

Vegy Junky

Although being vegetarian shows some devotion to a health living style, we also sometimes escape in the world of junk food. In the organic shop in Wellington I bought some rice burgers and it was the last time to prepare it. The only I had to do is heated them on olive oil; the potatoes were prepared in the same way as in Wellington, the salad is classic. Of course I didn’t miss the ketchup;)

Wrap Picnic

One of the things I like most is eating outside, like on a terrace, courtyard, anywhere in nature etc. New Zealand is for sure one of the best places in the world to enjoy good food in the very well preserved and wild nature. We caught the opportunity to have a picnic beside the longest swing bridge in New Zealand, just four kilometers south of Munchinson. While admiring some brave tourist walking over the bridge the taste of Asparagus Wraps and my classical Avocado covered salad occupied our mouth and mind. For the Asparagus Wraps I used: olive oil, 200 g green asparagus, garlic pate (you can use anyone), grated cheese (whichever you like), 50 g seitan (sliced in small pieces) and (oat) wraps. First I heated the olive oil and cooked the asparagus and seitan. Secondly I spreaded the garlic pate on the first wrap and covered with the grated cheeser. On the top I put the second wrap and filled it with the asparagus and seitan. Roll in and enjoy;)

Tomy Mushy Poty

Wellington is the capital of New Zealand and the waves of the streets just confirm that. Although I was there on a sunny Sunday I managed to find an open organic store. Well, it is not that easy to find shops and restaurants open in the Kiwi land. Except of supermarket all others close at six the latest. You can find some caffees that close at half past three though, but they do not serve dinner. Difficult to understand for us Europeans;) The organic store Common Sense Organic(http://www.commonsenseorganics.co.nz/) was very good stocked. If I was at home I’d fill at least two troleys;) But here I have to limit myself;) So, today’s dinner was consisted of Portobello Mushrooms with tomato sauce and new potatoes, thus Tomy Mushy Poty.
For the Poty part of the story start with: half kilo medium sized young potatoes, 2 T olive oil and salt. Cut the young patatoes lengthwise into 4 to 6 chunks. Put the potatoes in a microwave set at high for 8 minutes. In a frying pan, heat the olive oil and panfry the potatos until golden. Season with salt.
For the mushroom sauce you need: 4 cloves of garlic (crushed), 2 spring onions (chopped), olive oil, 300 g (Portobello) mushrooms (diced), 150 g tomato sauce, mix herbs and salt. Saute the garlic and onions. After some minutes add the mushrooms and cook for another 10 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and the herbs mixture. Season to taste and serve with potaotes. I nearly forgot to mention - with Tomy Mushy Poty a local Merlot goes really well.

North Island Picnic

The recent days were quite active. Visiting the north of the North Island - Cape Reigna- gave me some really inspiring views. It is believed that the place where the Tasman sea meets the Pacific ocean (and vice versa) is the gateway to the other word for the souls of dead people. No doubt it is a mysterious place embraced with a special energy. To have a fully experience it I planned and also realized a picnic;) Beside the wind there were no limits to enjoy Orange pasta and Avocado covered salad.
For the orange pasta I sautéed the chopped onion. Than I added the diced orange pumpkin and half can of tomato sauce. Allow around 10 minutes to cook and season to taste. Meanwhile cook the pasta and mix it with the prepared sauce. The Avocado covered salad was a combination of lettuce, beans, carrots, tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and herb sald. On the top you cover the pasta with avocado slices. To good to be true;)

Creamy Sweet Potatoes & Spinach

Before I reveal my new backpacker recipe, I’ve finally received a n overwhelming confirmation that my hobby is very practical. As I wanted to see some good stuff around Raglan I took a local agency. The guide was a very interesting person. When talking about hobbies he told me that his hobby was to collect parrots. He had more than 60 of them. But when he took the decision to move, he had to abandon them one by one. Moreover, his girlfriend is fixed with frogs. I don’t remember how many frogs she has, but I do remember that the biggest cost her 2.500 US dollars. Thus my hobby is not just practical (what can you do with more than 60 parrots and millions of frog?), but also quite convenient (if you don’t count my cookbooks;).

The below described sweet potatoes I transformed in Creamy Sweet Potatoes & Spinach. I bought: olive oil, 3 cloves of garlic, spinach, 2 small sweet potatoes, half of a tin of coconut cream, salt & pepper. If I was at home, I’d use nutmeg as well. Crush the garlic and sauté them in olive oil. Cut the spinach and add it to the garlic. Meanwhile cook the potatoes. When the potatoes are cooked, dice them. Add the potatoes to the garlic (if the leaves of spinach are big, cut them in smaller ones). Stir and add the coconut cream. Season to taste and enjoy.

Kumara potatoes & new book

Before coming to New Zealand a friend of mine told me that she had a lot of sweet potatoes when she had visited NZ. She couldn’t remember the name of it. I was looking for these sweet potatoes since I arrived. Finally I found it. A nice lady in an organic grocery (Independent Grocery in Raglan) explained me that NZ’s typical potatoes are called Kumara. The word sounds really funny to me as in Slovene it means cucumber;) However, there are different sorts of Kumara; this time I tried just two. The orange one is sweeter and moister, but both are good. Moreover I learned that in NZ they don’t grow much grain, nearly everything is imported from US, Canada and Asian countries. As I said many times before I try to eat and drink local. I really don’t see any sense having Italian pasta or French cheese in NZ.

Talking about Italy, I have to admit that I bought a book printed in Italy. Traveling around the country I found out that there is a chain of fair trade shops. Despite my doubts that fair trade shops are really what they claim they are (my doubts are even bigger after reading the book Bad science) I entered the one here in Raglan. Beside the classical coffee, tea and chocolate (what I really dislike are the leaflets saying: “Are you sure that your chocolate was not produced by a slave?” For me this is total manipulation – by this I’m not saying that there is no slavery; there is, but I’m not sure that this is the best method to combat it), they didn’t have any food, more cups, plates etc. Well, the point is that I found another book for my rich collection, this time I found Vegetarian main dishes from around the world. There is a variety of recipes from Africa, Asia, Latin America & Caribbean, and Middle East & North Africa. Although my quite wide knowledge of vegetarianism, there are some dishes I’ve never heard before, for example Shiro wat, before, for example Shiro wat, Yemesirkik, Aprapransa, Dengu, Nyoyo etc. When back home I’ll have plenty of dishes to prepare;)

Vegi Burger with Lentils

After a 7 hours drive (6+1) from New Plymouth to the surfers’ town Raglan I was not really in the mood to cook (it happens to sometimes as well). In the hostel, where I’m staying, suggested me to have an organic burger in a local fast food. Indeed was a good idea. I had one of my best vegi burger ever (the golden medal is still in hands of a fast food in Helsinki – hemp burger;). Homemade soy burger with lentils, roasted red peppers, feta cheese, tomato, beetroot and roast garlic hummus. Served in wholegrain bread. Yummy;)

Golden Kiwi

In winter time kiwi is one of my favorite fruit. My father grows them at home, so I have plenty of them. As far as I know I’ve never heard of any other type of kiwi as the green one. In one of my first post in the blog after arriving in NZ I described the kiwis here different than those at home. Now I know the difference (shame on me). Here I indulge myself in golden kiwis! They are sweeter and less round. In the supermarket you can buy special spoons for eating kiwis (my dear friends, now you know what I’ll bring you as a souvenir from NZ;). The plastic spoon has a small blade. Firstly, you cut the kiwi with the blade and secondly you spoon the kiwi out. Having this special spoon in your pocket, you can have your kiwis anywhere.

Avocado Feta Pasta

Before I disclose my today’s recipe, I have to tell you that I found another vegetarian magazine. It is called Cooking Vegetarian and it is published in UK. I bought the last two editions (although I found it very silly to buy European stuff in New Zealand, but here I have time to read). Compared to the American VegiNews, the CV is focused more on recipes and has less other information. Moreover it is vegetarian and not vegan (as VN is), which means I’ll have to find how to replace eggs in the recipes. But I’m quite good at it, so there won’t be any problems;) I think I’ll subscribe, some recipes looks really awesome; can’t wait to try them.

Today I tried with a new variation of my classical avocado pasta. As I had some feta cheese left, combined it with the other half of avocado of yesterday, so it came out the Avocado Feta Pasta. I just like this NZ avocados, they’re so yummy;) You need: half onion (chopped), olive oil, some feta cheese, avocado (cubed), pasta and salt. Cook the pasta. Meanwhile sauté the onion for five minutes. Turn off the fire, add the feta cheese and mix well. When the pasta is cooked, add the onion-feta mixture and the avocado. Mix well and serve. Fast and delicious;)