After a pretty rough week, I’m back with some renewed inspiration and a promise to myself to look after my mental health a little bit better by staying off social media more (it makes me feel anxious and inadequate) and do more self care when I feel myself spiralling out of control.
Yeah, the past week has not been the greatest. I was feeling awful, the weather was (continues to be) miserable and our beloved cat (who can do no wrong, says Duncan) gifted the household with a prolific amount of fleas!! Yup, there are fleas in the house and they are driving us crazy. It got a bit better since we started our daily hoovering routine but they have not yet been defeated completely. A special anti-flea powder arrived in the post yesterday and we plan to spend our evening combing our living room rug for eggs and larvae – yuk! – dusting them and hoovering them up eventually. Luckily we only have one rug downstairs, fingers crossed this works! Recipe-wise, I felt like something fresh and summery even if England appears to have missed the ‘hello, it’s summer’ memo this year. I have made delicious lemongrass-flavoured aubergine and tofu meatballs and have served them, Vietnamese style, inside a crusty white baguette, adorned with quick pickles and Sriracha mayo. It’s a delicious combo, fresh, spicy, zingy yet filling at the same time. The meatballs can be either fried or baked. If you decide to bake yours don’t add too much more flour as baking tends to dry things out more. If you are not keen on the sandwich format, you can always have them as part of a lunch bowl like in this old recipe. I hope you’ll enjoy them!
250 g / 8¾ oz (1 large) aubergine / eggplant 3 lemongrass stalks* 2 small garlic cloves, peeled 1½ tsp sambal oelek (or Sriracha), adjust to taste 2 small spring onions 15 g / ½ oz fresh coriander ½ tsp toasted sesame oil 2 tsp finely grated ginger 1 tsp sugar ½ tsp black or white pepper ¾-1 tsp fine salt, adjust to taste 250 g / 8¾ oz firm tofu, pressed* 3 tsp psyllium husks (optional) approx. 30 g / ¼ cup rice flour or other flour 30 ml / 2 tbsp high smoke point oil (I used rice bran oil), for frying
REMANING INGREDIENTS
1 crusty baguette, cut into 12 cm / 5″ sections 6 tbsp vegan mayo 15 ml / 1 tbsp Sriracha, adjust to taste
ASSEMBLY
