Vegan Archives - The Fruitful Kitchen

Olive oil chocolate truffles

Chocolate season is on its way. I’m not suggesting you eat these instead of Easter eggs … maybe as well as?! Or enjoy them in the lead up while waiting. They are so much better for you than just breaking off a square of chocolate and shoving it in your gob (which has to be done sometimes). They do contain some chocolate from a block, but make that block go much further – and also include extra-virgin olive oil and raw cacao powder. I created the recipe for Mount Zero using their mandarin-pressed extra-virgin olive oil a few years ago. Having whipped the truffles up another few times recently, I am still a bit proud! They are silky and divine with the vibrant note of mandarin (but you can also use fresh mandarin or orange zest and regular EVOO). Continue reading Olive oil chocolate truffles

Nasi ulam (Malaysian herb rice)

Holiday photos and memories have a surreal edge to them right now. ‘Was that really last year?’ … ‘Was that real at all?’ Looking back on life before COVID19, you can’t help but feel it was a little hedonistic. We did whatever we wanted! Maybe we set some boundaries or tried to care for others or the planet, but our freedom was extraordinary, wasn’t it? Particularly if you had money for a plane ticket. Continue reading Nasi ulam (Malaysian herb rice)

Broccoli mallum

I fell for broccoli hard as a teenager, lusting after its crunchy, healthy greenness, which, when I moved out of home to go to uni, probably also had something to do with how easy broccoli was to cook and how dependable it was to find in the supermarket … But something happened along the way, and years later (okay, close to decades later) I notice that broccoli is virtually missing in action on this blog! I’m remedying this right now with a recipe that has made me love broccoli all over again. Continue reading Broccoli mallum

Japanese buckwheat soup

This soup makes me ridiculously happy, for a lot of reasons. A sure first is remembering the day last year when we hired a car and drove deep into the mountains of Shikoku, Japan. It was a big day in the car, punctuated by pockets of time spent in the quiet little villages of the Iya Valley, and at our final destination before we turned back, which was the double vine bridges suspended high above a turquoise river. Continue reading Japanese buckwheat soup

Greek-style stuffed tomatoes

When my mum talks about food, I listen. It isn’t usually on her radar – she’s much more of a book and movie fiend, an avid follower of current affairs, a lover of indigenous cultures, a keen traveller, and an amazing woman in general … For food to rate a mention, it has to be beyond good. Like the broad bean and ham dish she once had in Spain and still talks about, and the stuffed tomatoes she had in Greece. Continue reading Greek-style stuffed tomatoes

Pasta salad with olives and roasted garlic

I started out making pasta when I moved out of home, at age 17, featuring a crisper worth of vegetables plus some pesto from a jar. (Wry smile thinking about the strange tiles of pumpkin I used to cut, and the undercooked eggplant. But I was doing a good job of eating vegetables at least!) Continue reading Pasta salad with olives and roasted garlic

Japanese greens and walnut salad

We just got back from three weeks travelling around Japan, and we’re still doing that lovely thing – remembering what we were doing in increments from now. You know, ‘This time last week’, or ‘Two weeks ago today’: ‘We were walking around that amazing moss-covered cemetery in Koya San / at the giant Buddha in Kamakura with Shiro and Timoko / eating yakitori skewers for breakfast in Kochi / in our Airbnb in Kanazawa listening to the typhoon howling out our window!’ Continue reading Japanese greens and walnut salad

Aloo gobi

I’ve noticed cauliflower up to all kinds of tricks lately. I’ve seen it pulverised and standing in for couscous, and hidden inside a gluten-free pizza base. Makes me feel kind of old-fashioned in the ways I use cauliflower … Continue reading Aloo gobi

Zucchini, tomato and basil stew

The zucchinis are upon us! I’m growing the Italian variety called Tromboncino again, and I won’t write much about it here as you can read about it in last year’s post (Stir-fried zucchini and seasonal greens with soybean paste). In a nutshell, this zucchini is a climber so it takes up much less ground space than regular zucchini. We have it growing over an arch-like frame, which creates a lovely shady nook in the garden. The pale-green zucchinis are super long and thin and the kids like to pretend they’re walking sticks. Family, friends and neighbours have been gifted a few this year – I’m spreading the crazy zucchini love! Continue reading Zucchini, tomato and basil stew

Potato, dill and caper salad

Our family has been exchanging emails about who’s bringing what for Christmas. I love how this day has evolved from the traditional roast meat and veg, to meat with a spread of colourful salads and side dishes spilling over the meat on your plate, pushing the meat a little into the background (well, the way I dish up anyway!). Just quietly, I think the salads and vegetables are the main event. I do love quality ham and roast pork with crackling, but you’ll generally find me hanging out in the trimmings department. Continue reading Potato, dill and caper salad