Vegetable Flower-Tarte

The sun is bright shining and hopefully a day to enjoy to be outside. I desperately need to work in the garden, but......
I don't wont to lay too much work on my back as I am, after being sick for two weeks, a little weak on my legs. So I postponed garden work for later on. 

Still I wasn't lazy and I have been standing in the kitchen (as we didn't want to suffer from hungry ;)

According to the sun I decided to make a tarte like the sun - bright and colorful. I was hesitating how to arrange the vegetables I ended up to arrange them in a circle. Well, it's quite a little bit timetaking but worth it. And with the right music in the back, work always goes easier......

No go ahead and make your own Flower-Tarte and enjoy it with your best part and a glass of good wine!

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Vegetable-Flower-Tarte

4 Persons
2h 30min

Cake pan (Springform) 24cm diameter

Ingedients:
200 g wheatflour
40 g margarine
1/2 tsp. salt
11 Tbsp. water
180 -200 g cashew cheese (recipe below)
320 gr. Zucchini
220 gr. eggplant
210 gr. carrots (carrots and zucchini should be about same thick)
salt, pepper and herbs
Oil

Preparation:
For the dought put flour, margarine, water, 0,5 tsp. salt in a bowl and knead till smooth. Cover and give in the refrigerator for about 1 hour. 

Prepare the cashew cheese and keep cool till use. 

Peel the carrots and slice with vegetable planed lenghtwise in thin streaks. Do the same with the zucchini and keep them seperatly in two bowls.

Cut eggplant in half, place cuted side down and with a sharp knife cut lenghtwise into thin slices. The slices should have about the same size as carrots and zucchini (don't worry if they are a little bit bigger ;)

Take the dought out of the refrigerator and roll bigger than the from. Lightly grease the springform and layer it with the dought, on the side up about 2-3 cm. 
On the bottom disturb the prepared cashew cheese.

Now arrange the slices from outside to inside in a circle. Make sure that the halved eggplant slices lays with dark color up. 

Brush the arranged vegetables on the upper edges with oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and some herbs

Put the cakepan (springform) for 45 min in the not preheated oven at 200 °C. 


Before serving dizzle with some tomato-balsamic vinegar and walnut oil. (or another balsamic vinegar). 

Enjoy your piece of vegetable-flower-tarte!

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Classic Cashew Cheese
  
Makes 1 1/2 cups
1 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons white wine
2 cloves garlic
1/2 -1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Soak cashews in 1/4 cup of water for about 20 minutes to 1 hour.
Add all ingredients to a high speed blender or food processor.

Blend until thick and creamy.

Use at room temperature or chill for at least 20 minutes.

Store in an airtight mason jar or container for up to 1 week.
Enjoy!

Back at home and in the kitchen

Back from vacation down in Croatia. 

I spend one great week on a vegan Cruisetrip in Croatia. In fact it was my first and defenetly not my last one, as I was never on holidays like this. And all I can say - when ever you'll see or find something comparing - Take part!!!

The Ship was about 30 meters long and 8 meters wide. 

We were about 29 guests and a crew of 8 persons. The people on the boat were all so friendly and we had good time together. 

The food they served was very good - some food I never had or tried before, but I knew I would try it out later at home. 

The vegan cook (a women) sold two vegan cookbooks and in there I found some recipes she served us - I immediately bought them. 
Unfortunatly - as every holidays - the week was too fast over.

When I came home on Saturday morning, first I felt like a stranger in my apartment. But this past after a while. 

After I unpacked my backpack and before unpacking my luggage I went for groceries and back at home I put myself into kitchen - trying food from the cookbook I've eaten on the boat.

For first I looked trough the book what else I could prepare. To begin with I started with a cheese I ate on the boat (breakfast). SO GOOD!

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Vegan Pimentocheese 

Ingredients:
100 g red pepper, deseeded
375 ml water
2 tsp. Agar-Agar

90 Cashews
2 Tbsp. sesamseeds
1 1/2 tsp. seasalt or normal salt
2 tsp. onionpowder
1/3 tsp. carlicpowder
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
2 tsp. lemonjuice

Preparation:
Clean red pepper and cut into cubes. Pour water in a small pan and add pepper and Agar-Agar and let it cook for 5 minutes. (beware from overcooking). 

Meanwhile blend the rest of ingredients in your blender, add the cooked pepper, including the water and blend again till smooth. 

Oil a form and pour the liquid into the form and place in the refrigerator. 

After cooled down, the cheese can be overthrown and sliced.

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Bread Salad with Beens, Peach and Onions 

4 Persons

Ingredients:

400 g green Beens

salt

200 g old bread

0.5 dl vegetable broth

3 Tbsp. vinegar

1 bay leaf

2 peaches

1 red onion

4 Tbsp. Oil

pepper

100 g green salad of your favorite

black olives

Preparation:

First cook beans in salted water till soft. When done drain well and pour cold water over them. Cut into 2 cm wide pieces. 

Cut bread into large cubes. 

In a frying pan without fat lightly fry the bread.

In a saucepan bring vegetable broth, vinegar and bay leaf to a boil and turn off the heat. 

Cut the peaches in half, remove the stone and cut into slices. Peel and quarter the onion and with some little oil sauté for 2 minutes, add sliced peach and sauté briefly.

Mix with the bread and the beans, pour over cooked vinegar and the left oil, mix everything well and season with salt and pepper. 

Let the salad stand for 15 min before serving (to soak up the spices). Then serve on green salad, serve with black olives. 

Enjoy!