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  • Megan Young - Vegetarian, Home Cook, Photographer

    Megan is an Australian professional photographer who lives in Sydney.

    "I have been cooking since I can remember and a vegetarian almost as long. I was working in my aunt and cousin's restaurant by the age of 12 and spent many a summer holiday from school elbow deep in veg prep in kitchens around Hobart.

    Growing up in beautiful Tasmania, Australia, surrounded by nature, I couldn’t help but have a well-developed appreciation for fresh, wholesome and local produce. Over the years this love of fresh produce has awakened my interest in nutrition. I am currently studying nutrition and never cease to be amazed by the power of food."

    Loves: My crazy husband James, laughing till my face hurts, the feeling of warm sunshine on my back, cheesy pop country music, great Thai take away, trawling the aisles in health food stores.

    Wishes: There were more hours in the day, I had my own veggie garden, there were more good vegetarian choices in restaurants.

10.17.11

Kevin’s First Birthday and Veggies and Me Party

It was a big weekend for the Horans! Kevin, my nephew and godson, had his first birthday. Mum (Lorraine) and Dad (Brian) invited about 25 guests for a casual birthday party at home and James and I helped out where we could. I was on cooking duty while James used his skills on the face painting.

Kevin checks out the piñata and decorations to make sure everything is in order before the guests arrive…

…then Brian and Kevin check on the food.

I put together a very simple, child friendly, vegetarian party menu of: mini egg and lettuce sandwiches, mini margarita pizzas, sweet potato wedges with harissa mayo dipping sauce, chocolate dipped strawberries and chocolate drizzled fruit kebabs.

Cousin Lucy enjoys a fruit kebab and a margarita pizza.

The cake was a lot of fun. Kevin is the worlds biggest Mickey Mouse fan so the least I could do was make him his very own Mickey Mouse Birthday Cake.

Happy Birthday Kevin xox

 

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10.12.11

Bruschetta with Broad Bean Pesto

So, Hump Day (wednesday) is nearly over. For me that means thinking ahead to the weekend and the possibilities for weekend dinning. Usually this will mean dinning out but I also like to cook at home on the weekends. On Saturdays and Sundays you have the time the make those special dishes that you just can’t manage in a quick lunch break or for an after work dinner.

I am sure, like me, you get sick of sandwiches… but a tasty bruschetta is a wonderful weekend lunch option. Make a couple of quick ones for your family or lay them out on the table for no-fuss casual entertaining.

Walnuts are a great nut to include in your diet on a regular basis as they are a rich source of energy and contain many health benefiting nutrients, minerals, antioxidants and vitamins that are essential for optimum health. Some of the most noteworthy being: omega-3 essential fatty acids, vitamin E, B-complex groups of vitamins aswell as minerals like manganese, copper, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc and selenium.

Bread beans are greet for you too as they are high in protein, fibre, vitamins A and C, potassium and iron.

Bruschetta with Broad Bean Pesto

Pesto
1 ½ cups broad beans
1 cup walnuts
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 clove garlic
½ cup water
salt/pepper

Steam the broad beans for 10 minutes and set aside to cool.
Place all the ingredients into a large jug and blitz with a hand mixer. Alternatively, blitz all ingredients in a food processor.

Lightly toast slices of fresh sourdough bread and spread with a generous amount of the pesto. Top with your favorite toppings like: goat’s cheese, blanched asparagus, tomatoes and basil and sautéed mushrooms.

Filed in: dairy free | recipe | vegan

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10.3.11

Food Photo Festival, Tarragano, Spain

After being invited by Gunter Beer to exhibit at the second annual Foodphoto Festival in Tarragano, Spain, I didn’t need much convincing to get on a plane and make the trip over. Tarragona is a fishing port and beachside city about 90km from Barcelona. On arrival I was immediately impressed by the sunshine, scenery and relaxed vibe to the place. After booking into the festival hotel I took the 15 minute walk down to the port of Tarragona to register at the Network Centre. The port of Tarragona is both expansive and beautiful playing host to many restaurants, bars and the wharf buildings displaying the festival exhibitions.

On the first evening we all gathered in Plaça Del Rei, a beautiful square in the old town, and as the dusk turned to night we watched the first screening of the photographs nominated in the photo competition. (these are my pictures show here below)

Next came dinner… and this was a dinner to remember. Chef Ana Ruiz and her husband Quintin Quinsac opened the AQ Restaurant in 2004. Quintin is the sommelier while Ana is in charge of the kitchen and she specializes in seafood with a modern twist. The “Forum gastronómico”, has named the restaurant as one of the references and a “must to visit” in Catalonia. It was granted recently with a “sol” in the Repsol guide. (these are the special vegetarian dishes they created just for me)

The conferences began on Friday with Author Anne Kleinberg starting off proceedings with her very insightful lecture entitled “Get your ego our of my food photo”. Anne shared her wisdom and experiences after working with photographers and food stylists on six food books.

In the afternoon Marian Montoro lead a group discussion outlining her experience in self publishing. Marian is the sublimely talented, creator, photographer, stylist, designer and publisher behind Spanish online food magazine Sal y Pimiento. (Anne Kleinberg, left and Marian Montoro, right)

The rest of the conference was jam packed with workshops, lectures, wine tasting and portfolio reviews. Each day I had to pleasure of spending a long lunch in the sunshine with my newfound foodie friends at the Port of Tarragona.

(last year’s food feature winner Manuela Rüther and Barcelona based food photographer and food blogger M.Angeles Torres of Cook Me Tender fame share their portfolios in the Network Centre)

(London based studio photographer Ray Massey during his workshop “Liquid Illusions”)

My last night in Tarragona was Sunday night. After saying good bye to my new friends I took in a long stroll around the city trying to capture a few images to share of this truly remarkable city. Thank you Tarragona xox

Filed in: travel

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October 4, 2011 - 5:48 pm

Anne Kleinberg - Ah, such sweet memories. You did such a great job of capturing the essence of the FoodPhoto Festival. Thank you Megan – for bringing the joy we all shared out to the public. Can’t wait to see you next year! (or sooner)

October 17, 2011 - 1:44 pm

Tim Clinch - Never got to meet you in Tarragona, but really enjoyed your pictures. Great event…well organised and good fun.
You probably hurried past my pictures as they were all about charcuterie…beleive it or not, I’m struggling with eating meat at the moment and seriously considering giving it up…
Congrats for being there, I’m enjoying your blog…
Tim Clinch

October 17, 2011 - 8:57 pm

megan - Thank you very much for the kind words Tim. I do remember your pictures and although I wouldn’t have eaten the produce the photographs where beautiful. I really like the well balanced un-cluttered compositions you use. I am glad to hear you are enjoying the blog. Please stay in touch. Megan

April 28, 2012 - 2:21 am

Adrian Mueller - Megan – wonderful images from this event. I wished we could all go there again this year! Cheers, Adrian

9.21.11

Wild Damson Plums with Tofu Banana Cheese Cake

James’ father took us foraging for wild food last time we visited Limerick. I was delighted to have the opportunity to source local, in season, organic, free food. We took home two large boxes of Wild Damson Plums and tasted the sweet nectar from Honeysuckle. We also found some great spots for Blackberries for later in the season when they are ripe.

Stewed Wild Damson Plums

I washed the damsons, cut them in half to remove the stones and stewed them with a small amount of water in a heavy pan for 15 minutes. This fruit is very tart so I would recommend adding some sugar. I like tart flavours so enjoyed the fruit with no added sugar.

Tofu Banana Cheese Cake

crust
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 tablespoons ruptura raw cane sugar
3 tablespoons sunflower oil margarine (Non Hydrogenated-Trans Fat free)
zest of 1 lime

filling
560g soft tofu
2 organic free-range eggs
juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 ripe bananas

Melt the sunflower oil margarine and combine well with the other crust ingredients.
Evenly push the mixture into the base of a greased medium baking dish or cake pan.
Bake in a pre-heated moderate oven 180 degC for 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Combine all the filling ingredients in a large bowl and blitz until smooth with a hand blender.
Poor the mixture into the baking dish, over the top of the crust.
Smooth the top of the mixture with the back of a spoon.
Bake in a pre-heated moderate oven 180 degC for 40 minutes or until the cake is firm.
Allow to cool and then refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving.

This cake is diary free so I served it up with the stewed wild damson plums on the side.

Filed in: dairy free | recipe

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September 25, 2011 - 7:58 am

Foodie Roundup #35 | Supermarket Wine Bargains, Fennel Soup & more. - [...] Wild Damsun Plums with Tofu Banana Cheese Cake via Veggies And Me [...]

October 1, 2011 - 11:19 am

Jessica Streeter - This recipe is so exciting!!!!! but what could I use in place of eggs as I’m vegan?
Thanks for these fantastic recipes and inspiring ideas!

October 15, 2011 - 6:12 pm

maggie - Egg replacement by Organ works well

9.20.11

Spiced Pumpkin Soup

I am sure I have said this before on the blog… but… when the weather is cold and wet I love to make soup. This recipe is a great one for the weekend as roasting the pumpkins before hand does add a bit of extra time to the recipe. This step is well worth it, giving the soup a richer, sweeter flavour.

Spiced Pumpkin Soup

1 medium butternut squash
1 medium sweet potato
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper
2 small or 1 large red onions
1 thumb size piece of ginger
1 tablespoon garam masala
2 low salt gluten free stock cubes
700ml boiling water
420g tin of chickpeas

Preheat the oven to 180degC.
Cut the butternut squash and sweet potato in half length ways.
Scoop the seeds out of the squash with a spoon.
Drizzle the squash and sweet potato with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Then allow to cool.
FInely chop the onions and grate the ginger.
Saute and onions and ginger, in a large pot, in a small amount of oil and water over a low heat for 10 minutes.
Add the garam masala to the pan and stir over the low heat for 1 minute.
Scoop the soft flesh of the squash and sweet potato out of their skins and add to the pot.
Add in the stock cubes, the boiling water and chickpeas.
Allow to simmer over a low heat for 30 minutes.
Use a hand blender to wiz the soup until smooth.

I served the soup up with tasty rye toast and organic soft goat’s cheese.

Filed in: dairy free | gluten free | recipe | vegan

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