SmarterFitter Daily

This is my attempt to keep a daily food and fitness diary. This isn't Pulitzer-winning writing; these are spontaneous, often hastily written rambles of what I eat, do and learn in my ongoing effort to feel awesome all the time. It may not always be pretty, but at least it's honest. You can find more stories and recipes at SmarterFitter.com.

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Searching leeks

Obox Signature Series

Poached egg with cabbage and leeks

P247

Sautéed leeks and cabbage with caraway, fennel and coriander seeds. Topped with a poached egg and a sprinkle I paprika. Avocado and sourdough toast on the side, plus a little giardiniera. Rocked my world.

Cottage Loaf with Rhubarb Ketchup

Cottage Loaf

A spiced veggie loaf made with eggs, cottage cheese, veggies and (weirdly) bran flakes. Recipe from a family friend. It's incredibly versatile - need to play with it some more to get the spices and veggies right. Also think I was a bit heavy on the bran flakes... it all tasted a bit "branny".

On the side: sauteed leeks and swiss chard (I love sauteed leeks with greens).

Rhubarb ketchup is from Gloria Nicol and it's uber delicious.

BBQ Haggis Portobello Mushroom

Haggis-Stuffed Portobello Mushroom

My favourite use of Carl Legge's vegetarian haggis thus far: stuffed in a portobello mushroom and topped with the Backyard BBQ Sauce from Veganomicon. Pretty awesome. 

Had this with sauteed leeks and curly kale (a favourite combo), avocado on the side, and a squeeze of lime juice. Oh, and lots of hot chillies. 

More on the haggis: Vegetarian Haggis for Burns Night

Stuffed mushrooms with leeks and kale

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This is one of those meals that tasted a whole lot better than it looks (which is pretty hideous).

This was good and very easy. I mashed up ~100g firm tofu with some pesto (homemade walnut and mixed herb pesto made with a recipe from The Vegetarian Cookery School), then I brushed two mushrooms with oil and stuffed them with the tofu mix. I baked this at 180C for about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, I steamed some leeks and kale. At the end, I finished the mushrooms and leeks under the broiler for a few minutes. It was all just delicious and steamed leeks are my new favourite thing. They come out so soft and sweet - a really nice side dish.

Portobello burger with savoy cabbage

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I am slowly honing in on the ultimate marinade for a portobello mushroom burger. Here I used 

  • 1/2 Tbsp grapeseed oil
  • 1/2 tsp vegan worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp balsamic
  • 1 clove garlic 
  • lots of black pepper

This was a very tasty marinade, but the amount was too much for the size of my mushroom. I poured most of it on the gill-side and let it really soak in, and as a result, I could taste a lot of marinade, but not a lot of mushroom. 

This is a balancing act.

I also treated myself to mozarella cheese and homemade mayo. This is Friday night, after all! 

On the side: sauteed leeks and savoy cabbage with caraway seeds. One of my favourite things, which also happens to make a nice burger topping.

Had some baked apples, blackberries and yogurt for dessert.

Veggie chile

Veggie chile

Served on top of sauteed leeks and kale.