Heavenly Plate

Tonight the bf and I dined at a gorgeous little vegetarian cafe in Applecross called Heavenly Plate. The cafe and adjoining gift shop are just so pretty and cute! 

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We ordered the mini martabaks and a red sea soup for our entrees. The martabaks were beautifully presented little spring roll parcels with a tasty tofu filling. The soup had authentic Thai flavours and was served piping hot with slivers of toast. For the main course, we chose the Japanese teriyaki burger and the green curry spaghetti. The burger had Japanese rice patties instead of bread and a tasty mock meat pattie with salad. It was a little on the small side for a main course but was accompanied by some of the best wedges we have ever eaten! So crispy mmm. The spaghetti was delicious and filling with lots of yummy vegetables throughout. For dessert I couldn't go past the chocolate brownie, it was truly divine.

I was very satisfied after this meal and would definitely eat here again. I recommend Heavenly Plate as a great place to catch up with the girls for a meal or coffee and cake. The shabby chic decor and dainty portions may be a bit off-putting to some men, but the food is tasty and quite different than the standard cafe fare. Prices are reasonable, it cost just over fifty dollars for this meal plus a coffee. Heavenly Plate is open every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner at 2/899 Canning Hwy, Applecross. 

Mega vegetable lasagne

I'm not going to lie, this was a very labour intensive meal to make! It was a bit of a kitchen experiment, I had no recipe, just a fridge full of vegetables and some beautiful fresh pasta sheets handmade by the bf to use up. Here is a breakdown of what I put in each layer:

First in the dish was a blend of steamed broccoli and cauliflower, mashed with spring onions, shredded basil and spinach, folded through ricotta cheese with a sprinkling of parmesan. Top with pasta sheets.

Then a thin layer of roasted red capsicum and sun dried tomatoes which I processed into a chunky paste with tomato passata and some balsamic vinegar. More pasta on top.

Next came a layer of sauteed portobello and swiss brown mushrooms with garlic and parsley and a splash of balsamic vinegar. I also added some slices of roasted beetroot here.

After another layer of pasta, it was time for the colourful roasted pumpkin and corn combination which also contained roasted shallots and garlic cloves. 

More pasta, followed by another helping of the ricotta blend topped with a thick lashing of the capsicum and tomato sauce made up the top of the lasagne. 

The finishing touch was a sprinkling of grated mozzarella and parmesan, then into the oven for half an hour and finally feast!

Thai red lentil and carrot soup

I'm still being inspired by the delicious Thai ingredients I tried on my holiday last month. I wanted to make a healthy soup with a nice Thai flavour and I'm very happy with this recipe.

1 tblsp coconut oil

3/4 cup shallots, chopped

2 sticks of celery, chopped

4 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped
1-2 red chillies, chopped
1 lemon grass stalk, crushed slightly
3 kaffir lime leaves
1 tsp finely grated galangal
roots and stalks from 1 small bunch coriander, chopped
3/4 cup red lentils, rinsed
1 Massel chicken style stock cube
1 tsp tumeric powder
1 tin of reduced fat coconut milk

Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan over a medium low heat. Saute the shallots for 1 minute, add the celery and carrots and saute for 3 minutes. Add the chillies, garlic, coriander, tumeric and lentils. Stir together. Add the crumbled stock cube and enough water to just cover everything. Add the galangal and  lemon grass and simmer until the lentils are cooked and all vegetables are tender. Remove the lemon grass and the lime leaves. Puree the soup once slightly cooled and add coconut milk until desired consistency is reached . Season with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with coriander leaves.