THE HUNGRY VEGGIE

VEGAN THREE BEAN SALAD

2012-01-22T17:17:00.004Z

Vegan Three Bean Salad

Because Mr Vegan is a vegan and protein at mealtimes is always an issue, I decided we need to eat more beans. We already use them in soups, curries and chillis but, up until now, have not really incorporated them into salads. I took a pea salad recipe off Wise Móna's fantastic blog as a starting off point and made this delicious Three Bean Salad today.

Helper Juno with the beans

Tesco very handily sell a tin of mixed beans (cannellini, adzuki & flageolet) and I used that. You can, of course, cook your own dried beans.

INGREDIENTS

400g tin of mixed beans
150g sweetcorn
1 carrot (grated)
1 small onion – chopped small
handful roughly chopped coriander
1 clove of garlic (minced)
half tsp sugar
15 ml olive oil
15 ml red wine vinegar

METHOD

Mix the beans, sweetcorn, onion and carrot in a big bowl
In a small bowl mix the oil, sugar, vinegar and garlic
Mix dressing into salad then add the coriander

HANGOVER SOUP

2012-01-01T13:11:00.001Z

It's New Year's Day (happy new year!) so hangover soup is the order of the day. My hangover is of the prosecco-red wine-beer variety. Cringe.

This soup is vegan, chunky, and full of red and orangey goodness. And it will bring you back if you are too far gone. I feel half human after a hot shower and a bowl of this.

THE GOODS

3 large carrots, chopped
100 g red lentils
1 large onion
1 yellow pepper, chopped
tin chopped tomatoes
1.7 litre boiled water
2 veg stock cubes
half tsp salt
a grind of black pepper
a handful of wholemeal pasta

THE WAY

Chop the onion and fry off in a little oil in a big pot
Add the chopped pepper and fry a little more
Pour in the chopped tomatoes and boiling water
Add the lentils and carrots
Toss in salt, a grind of pepper and the stock cubes (crumbled)
Bring to the boil, then turn down heat and simmer for twenty minutes
Add the pasta, bring to the boil, then turn down heat and simmer for ten minutes
Serve on its own or with your favourite bread. Num num.

VEGAN APPLE CRUMBLE

2011-12-06T13:30:00.001Z

My father-in-law gave us some apples from his Dublin garden. So far I've made two apple and cinnamon cakes and today I made a small apple crumble. Mr Vegan loves crumble so it's really for him. But I had a little sample and it's a sweet and spicy crumble with a thick topping. Our dish is an 8.25" pie dish - smaller than the usual size.

Topping

75g spelt flour
50g vegan marg
25g brown sugar
30 g porridge oats

Filling

3 apples, chopped
¼ tsp mixed spice
1 tsp cinnamon
juice and zest of an orange
30g brown sugar

Method

• Preheat oven to 180C
• Stir the filling ingredients over a low heat until the sugar melts and the fruit starts to soften
• Pour the mix into a pie dish and let it cool while you make the topping
• Rub the marg into the flour
• Add the sugar and oats and mix through with your fingers
• Pour the topping onto the fruit and pat down with your hands
• Bake for 30 minutes
• Serve hot or cold, with soya cream or custard

VEGAN CHRISTMAS CAKE

2011-12-01T09:07:00.001Z

Herewith - belatedly - my vegan Christmas cake - it's boozy, fruity and utterly yum. I made it yesterday with a little help from two of the kids. I've been making this cake for years and I always get comments from people who've made it, so please comment!

This year I am taking part in my friend Emily's Advent Linky Party with this recipe. See the Craft Advent/nest button over on the right and click to learn more.

Everything ready to go!

It helps hugely, I find, to get all your ingredients weighed and ready in advance.

Juno observing, Finn measuring


Nuala making a wish :)

This recipe makes a lovely moist cake; we used it as our wedding cake last year. We eat it plain but you can buy vegan marzipan and icing to decorate it if you like.

Nollaig shona! Happy Christmas!

INGREDIENTS

350 gr wholegrain spelt flour
175gr vegan marg
175gr light muscovado sugar
1 tsp mixed spice
150gr sultanas
200gr raisins
150gr dates
50 gr flaked almonds
1 tblsp treacle
100gr glacé cherries, halved
grated zest of an orange
2 tblsps ground almonds
120ml soya milk
2 tblsps red wine vinegar
¾ tsp of bread soda (bicarbonate of soda)
6 tblsps (90ml) brandy

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 150˚C
• Grease an 8" cake tin and line with a layer of greased greaseproof; leave a ridge of paper at the top
• Sieve the flour and spice
• Rub in the marg until the mix is like breadcrumbs
• Stir in the flaked almonds and treacle
• Add the sugar, dried fruit, cherries, orange zest and ground almonds and mix
• Warm half the soya milk in a small pot and add the vinegar
• Dissolve the bread soda in the rest of the soya milk, then add
this to the milk and vinegar mix (it will puff up nicely!)
• Stir this into flour and fruit mix until well combined
• Spoon mix into greased tin and smooth the top
• Bake for 2 hours, until a skewer/cocktail stick comes out clean
• Leave cake in tin to cool, then turn out and peel off greaseproof
• Prick cake with a cocktail stick and feed with a third of the brandy
• Wrap cake in greaseproof and store in a tin
• Feed with the rest of the brandy at weekly intervals (if the cake lasts that long!)

The cake cooling in the tin

The finished cake!

CRAFT-ADVENT LINKY PARTY!

2011-12-01T08:14:00.001Z

My friend Emily (artist/crafter/super-mom/wonder woman) is having a Craft-Advent Linky Party over at her lovely blog The Nest. She will be posting all sorts of beautiful craft tutorials, recipes etc. I can't get her sweet button (above) to go on my blog (grrr) so this will have to do as my 'I am taking part' button. Roll on Xmas!

ALMOND, DATE & ORANGE LOAF

2011-11-11T17:00:00.001Z

Readers of this blog will know I love the date 'n' orange combination. This is a sweet, orangey loaf that is very simple to make. I used an electric hand mixer but if you have strong mixing arms, it's not essential to use a mixer.

Ingredients

200g wholegrain spelt flour

75g plain flour
1 level tsp bread soda (sieved)
100g brown sugar
100g marg
125g carton yogurt

rind of 1 orange
juice of 1 orange

2 eggs
50g dates (stoned & chopped)
50g flaked almonds

Method

Preheatoven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4.

Lightlygrease and base line a 900g/2lb loaf tin.

Beat the sugarand marg until smooth and creamy.

Add theyogurt, orange rind, juice and eggs. Mix well.

Add theflour and sieved bread soda and beat on low speed.

Add thedates and nuts and gently stir until well mixed.

Transferto the prepared tin.

Bake forabout 55 minutes until skewer comes out clean.

Allow tostand for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire tray to cool.

NEARLY XMAS CAKE TIME

2011-11-06T11:42:00.000Z

The recipe is ladybird-ed to the notice board and I am off to buy the ingredients. Any day now the mood will feel right for baking the Vegan Christmas Cake. My recipe is a Rose Elliott one that I adapted and I adore it. People always contact me to say they have made it with great success so I hope more of you will do so this year. Stay tuned!

TOASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS

2011-10-31T10:02:00.001Z

Happy Hallowe'en!! It's rainy and dark here in Galway - not much chance of a roaring bonfire, sadly. My Hallowe'en Brack recipe is here for any lastminuters. We had roasted pumpkin and peppers with garlic last night - mmm.

I was looking at the pumpkin seeds as I carved the Jack O' Lantern, thinking, Don't throw away those pumpkin seeds, eat them instead! OK, it turns out it involves a bit of work but it's nice work.

Firstly, pick all the pumpkin flesh from the seeds.

Rinse them in a colander.

Dry them overnight on a baking tray.

Pre-heat oven to 180°C.

Sprinkle with olive oil and salt and place in oven.

Roast for 35 minutes and you have a healthy, yummy snack.

If you don't eat the seeds straight away, store in an airtight container once they have cooled down.

CATHY'S SPELT LOAF MIX

2011-10-26T15:39:00.001+01:00

I love spelt flour to bake with so I was excited when I saw this Irish-made multiseed spelt bread mix in Planet Life in Athlone for €3.99. You just add soya milk or buttermilk and mix to a dough, so it couldn't be simpler.

I can't get the link to Cathy's Spelt for Health site to work but I have found the company on Facebook here. They have lots of great products which I hope to try soon.

Here's how the loaf turned out - it looks and smells yum. We're planning to have it with a lentil soup for dinner.

SPELT HALLOWE'EN BRACK

2011-10-17T13:41:00.001+01:00

Juno admiring the brack

Here's a really easy tea brack recipe for Hallowe'en. It's loaf-shaped, not round, and the brandy gives it a lovely rich flavour. You could use whiskey or just use 180ml of tea if you don't want alcohol in the cake.

You can wrap a ring in greaseproof paper and bake it in the centre of the brack. Traditionally, the person who finds the ring in their slice of brack will be the next to marry.

Eat plain or buttered with a cup of tea.

RECIPE

150ml tea
30ml brandy
250g raisins
75g brown sugar
1 beaten egg
25g melted marg
255g wholegrain spelt flour
1tsp bread soda
1 tsp mixed spice

METHOD

- Soak the fruit, sugar, brandy and tea in a bowl - leave for 1 hour
- Preheat the oven to 180C
- Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin (ready-made liners are great and no greasing needed!)
- Add the melted marg to the fruit mix. Stir through.
- Add the beaten egg. Stir through.
- Sieve then fold in the flour, bread soda and spice
- Pour into the lined tin (insert wrapped ring at this point, if using)
- Bake for 55 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean
- Cool in the tin for 10 mins then turn onto a wire rack.

SPELT SCONES - sugar free!

2011-09-20T16:00:00.002+01:00

I am off bread during the week in an effort to feel less bleh. My daughter wanted a scone today, so rather than buy tempting shop ones, I decided to bake spelt scones. Because they have strawberry soya yogurt in them, these are really sweet and tasty.

The lovely cloth is a bread cloth given to me by writer Valerie Trueblood and hand woven by her friend. It is my newest treasure possession and it got its first use with these scones.

INGREDIENTS

150 g wholemeal spelt flour

50 g porridge oats

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large egg beaten

4 tbsp yogurt (any flavour or plain)

1 heaped tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 200C

Preheat baking tray in oven and sprinkle with flour when ready to use

In a bowl mix all the dry ingredients together and make a well in the middle

Mix the yogurt, oil and egg in a jug, then mix into flour mixture until it forms a dough

Turn out onto a floured surface and shape into a round about 2 inches thick

Cut out scones with a small pastry cutter – about 8 depending on size of cutter

Place on a floured baking tray and bake in the middle of the oven for approx. 20 minutes

Cool on a wire rack

NAME CHANGE - THE VEGAN GOES VEGGIE

2011-09-20T15:35:00.000+01:00

I've decided to change the name of this blog because the whole vegan thing is too restrictive for me. I am not vegan (my husband is) and sticking to vegan food only as a blogger means I blog little. I do intend to still post vegan recipes though.

So welcome to The Hungry Veggie, I hope I can manage to blog here more now that I can use eggs :)

VEGAN PRUNE AND BRANDY CAKE

2011-06-15T15:24:00.002+01:00

Juno enjoying some cake

I have been experimenting again. I put on weight in May which is always a party month in our house with all the birthdays that fall in that month. This year we also had our first wedding anniversary, one son's communion and a holiday in NY. So I am trying to eat more sensibly and because I simply can't give up goodies, I needed a healthy cake. This delivers a moist, delicious loaf that just oozes goodness. It is even more gorgeous slathered in soy yogurt.

RECIPE
410 g can of prunes, pitted
120ml prune juice (the juice left in the can)
30ml tea
30ml brandy
50g brown sugar
1 portion of No Egg (or 1 beaten egg for non-vegans)
25 g melted vegan marg
255g wholegrain spelt flour
1tsp bread soda
1 tsp mixed spice

METHOD
- Pit the prunes, then soak them with the prune juice, sugar, brandy and tea in a bowl
- Preheat the oven to 160C
- Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin (ready-made liners are great and no greasing needed!)
- Add the NoEgg mix and melted marg to the fruit mix. Stir through.
- Fold in the flour, bread soda and spice
- Pour into the lined tin
- Bake for one hour, until a skewer comes out clean
- Cool in the tin for 10 mins then turn onto a wire rack

VEGAN ST PATRICK'S DAY BISCUITS

2011-03-17T10:49:00.003Z

Uniced vegan biscuits

Hello, all, and Happy Saint Patrick's Day. I decided to make biscuits for today's festivities and I veganised one of Rachel Allen's recipes from her lovely book Bake. It's easy peasy. This made 22 smallish biscuits.

Decorated vegan biscuits

Ingredients:
4oz vegan marg
2oz brown sugar
5oz plain flour
half tsp lemon essence (optional)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 170C
Cream the marg, lemon essence and sugar with a mixer or by hand
Sift in the flour and mix to a soft dough
Roll walnut sized pieces of dough in your palms
Place them apart from each other on an ungreased baking tray
Flatten them a little with a fork dipped in water
Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until golden
Remove from tray immediately and cool on a wire rack

Icing:
Mix 2 tsps of icing sugar with a little water.
Add more sugar and more water until the mixture is hard to mix
Palette onto the biscuits and decorate with green, white and orange jellies
Eat and have a happy Saint Patrick's Day!

VEGAN CHOCOLATE CAKE - VALENTINE'S DAY

2011-02-14T19:38:00.001Z

Personally I'm not a huge fan of chocolate cake but what nicer for Valentine's Day for my favourite vegan than Vegan Chocolate Cake? I got this recipe from veganchocolatecake.net and changed the weights to European ones.

Ingredients

185g plain flour
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon bread soda
100g sugar

½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
5 tablespoons cooking oil

1 tablespoon cider vinegar
240ml cold water

Icing

1 small bar dark choc melted

1 tablespoon of icing sugar, to thicken

Method

Preheat oven to 180˚C
Grease and line an 8 inch round tin
Sieve the flour, cocoa, bread soda and salt in a large bowl
Mix in the sugar and salt
Make 3 holes in the dry ingredients. Put vanilla essence into one, oil into another and cider vinegar into the third.
Pour cold water over the top. Mix only enough to combine all ingredients.
Pour the batter into the tin
Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean
Decoration:
When the cakes are cool, melt the chocolate
Mix in the icing sugar
Palette the icing onto the top
Decorate with chopped nuts

MINI VEGAN BANANA AND WALNUT LOAF

2011-01-12T18:28:00.000Z

I had a blackening banana hanging about and I also have a 1 pound loaf tin that I never use, so I decided to try a smaller version of one of my cakes, just to see. It worked out, so if you have a weeny tin that needs filling, here's the cake for you.

1 over-ripe banana
50g light brown sugar
125g wholegrain spelt flour
25ml soya milk
25ml rapeseed oil
50g chopped/halved walnuts
half tsp baking powder
1 tsp NoEgg mixed with 2tblsps water (or a beaten egg, for non vegans)

o Preheat the oven to 160˚C
o Grease a 1lb loaf tin
o Break the peeled banana into a bowl and whizz with the sugar (I used a hand blender)
o Add the NoEgg mix (or egg), oil and soya milk and whizz again
o Fold in the dry ingredients & walnuts
o Pour into the loaf tin
o Bake for 45 minutes. Test with a skewer.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

2010-12-25T14:22:00.000Z

My friend Claire made my vegan cake - look at her gorgeous result. Nollaig shona / Happy Christmas to everyone.

XMAS CAKE DAY - VEGAN CHRISTMAS CAKE

2010-11-30T19:32:00.003Z

FINN MAKING THE CAKE

The snow has the kids off school today so we are all at home and hanging about. I decided it was the perfect day to (rather belatedly for me) make the Christmas Cake. Luckily, I bought the ingredients weeks ago - there is no getting to the shops today.

I was tempted this year to make a "new" cake but I just love this one, so here goes again. I used it as my wedding cake in May and it worked a treat then too. People contact me every year to say they have made the cake, so if you do, I'd love to hear from you.

Get all your ingredients weighed and ready in advance. This recipe makes a lovely moist, boozy and fruity cake. We eat it plain but you can buy vegan marzipan and icing to decorate it if you like.

THE CAKE MIX

INGREDIENTS

350 gr wholegrain spelt flour
175gr vegan marg
175gr light muscovado sugar
1 tsp mixed spice
150gr sultanas
200gr raisins
150gr dates
50 gr flaked almonds
1 tblsp treacle
100gr glacé cherries, halved
grated zest of an orange
2 tblsps ground almonds
120ml soya milk
2 tblsps red wine vinegar
¾ tsp of bread soda (bicarbonate of soda)
6 tblsps (90ml) brandy

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 150˚C
• Grease an 8” cake tin and line with a double layer of greased greaseproof
• Sieve the flour and spice
• Rub in the marg until the mix is like breadcrumbs
• Stir in the flaked almonds and treacle
• Add the sugar, dried fruit, cherries, orange zest and ground almonds and mix
• Warm half the soya milk in a small pot and add the vinegar
• Dissolve the bread soda in the rest of the soya milk, then add
this to the milk and vinegar mix
• Stir this into flour and fruit mix until well combined
• Spoon mix into greased tin and smooth the top
• Bake for 2 hours, until a skewer/cocktail stick comes out clean
• Leave cake in tin to cool, then turn out and peel off greaseproof
• Prick cake with a cocktail stick and feed with a third of the brandy
• Wrap cake in greaseproof and store in a tin
• Feed with the rest of the brandy at weekly intervals

CÚÁN AND JUNO, MAKING A WISH

THE FINISHED CAKE

FREE WINDFALLS

2010-11-22T16:06:00.003Z

I was given free windfalls in a charity shop today. Isn't that nice and very recession friendly? I think I will make an apple crumble.

VEGAN OAT BISCUITS

2010-11-08T15:02:00.000Z

I had friends popping around unexpectedly on Friday morning and there was nothing to give them, so I needed a quick, tasty, gluten free biscuit that I could have done and cooling by the time they arrived. I went to my trusty Porridge book and of course good old Margaret Briggs had this recipe for School Dinner Oat Cookies. In a school she worked in years ago they served these with blancmange. How very Enid Blyton! These make a crisp, sweet, chewy biscuit. Impossible to eat just one.

Recipe:

125g porridge oats
125g butter or marg
125g caster sugar (I used half caster/half brown)
125g plain flour (I used wholemeal spelt flour)
2 tsps baking powder
pinch bread soda
2 tblsps + 1 tsp golden syrup

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C
Grease two flat tins
Cream the sugar and marg
Add the porridge and the rest of the dry ingredients and mix
Mix in the golden syrup
Make into small balls (1 inch round) - this recipe makes about 18 - 20
Place on greased tins, leaving space - they spread!
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes

HAPPY WORLD VEGAN DAY

2010-11-01T14:09:00.001Z

Happy World Vegan Day! Today marks the start of World Vegan Month. The website has some good downloads including a booklet called Vegan Catering For All.
In Ireland, November is traditionally a month of abstinence, in preperation for December's excesses. Lots of people give up alcohol for the month. But it would also be nice to try taking something up. I'm thinking of going vegan as much as possible. It's my husband who is the vegan in our family (I'm vegetarian) so I think I will join him for this month and hopefully health benefits (even more!) will ensue.

Happy eating, all.

VEGAN HALLOWE'EN BRACK

2010-10-31T10:13:00.001Z

Happy Hallowe'en!

Here's a really easy tea brack recipe, that I adapted and veganised from recipes from Mary in Café Fresh and Nigella too. The only odd thing is that you soak the fruit and sugar in the tea 'overnight'. A few hours will do it though, I find - a minimum of 4 hours.

You can wrap a ring in greaseproof paper and bake it in the centre of the cake. Traditionally, the person who finds the ring in their slice of brack will be the next to marry.

RECIPE
180ml tea
350g fruit (1/3 each of dates, sultanas, raisins)
125g brown sugar
1 portion of No Egg (or 1 beaten egg for non-vegans)
25 g melted vegan marg
255g wholegrain spelt flour
1tsp bread soad
1 tsp mixed spice

METHOD
- Soak the fruit, sugar and tea in a bowl - leave overnight or for at least 4 hours
- Preheat the oven to 180C
- Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin (ready-made liners are great and no greasing needed!)
- Add the NoEgg mix and melted marg to the fruit mix. Stir through.
- Fold in the flour, bread soda and spice
- Pour into the lined tin (insert wrapped ring at this point, if using)
- Bake for one hour, until a skewer comes out clean
- Cool in the tin for 10 mins then turn onto a wire rack.
- Lovely hot, cold or toasted with vegan marg.

VEGAN CHOCOLATE, ORANGE AND PRUNE CAKE

2010-09-27T11:22:00.000+01:00

OK, this is a weird one. I don't really like chocolate cake but I'd heard prunes were great in choc cake and even though I also hate prunes (AKA Torture Fruit), I thought I would try a pruney choc cake for Mr Vegan's birthday. I've been obsessing about this for weeks and I'm not sure why?! I thought I'd soften the blow by adding orange to the recipe, seeing that choc and orange are such a match. Anyhoo, I cobbled together several recipes and this is the result. Successful? YES! It's an absolute treasure of a cake: dense, sweet, moist. Really yummy. 'A keeper,' Mr Vegan says.

You will need 2 round, 8 inch cake tins

Ingredients

100 grams of Green and Blacks cocoa

300 grams Self Raising Flour

200 grams brown sugar

60ml veg oil

2 portions of No Egg (or 2 beaten eggs for non-vegans)

2 tins of prunes (strained, pitted and halved)

Juice of 2 large oranges

100 ml prune juice (from tins of prunes)

Grated rind of 2 whole oranges

2 drops of vanilla essence

Topping:

1 large bar dark choc melted

1 tablespoon of icing sugar, to thicken

Method

Preheat oven to 190C

Grease the tins and line the bottoms with baking paper

Drain and stone the prunes

Sieve the dry ingredients

Add the wet ingredients, rind and prunes, except the orange juice and PJ

Mix OJ and PJ in gradually - the mix shouldn’t be too sloppy

Pour in to the two greased tins

Bake for about 50 mins or until firm

Cool on a wire rack

Icing

When the cakes are cool, melt the chocolate

Mix in the icing sugar

Palette the icing between the cakes and onto the top

VEGAN BANANA BREAD

2010-08-23T21:03:00.000+01:00

A lovely simple recipe for Banana Bread from Domini Kemp's Saturday page in the Irish Times Magazine, which I veganised (and reduced the sugar in) with great results. Bananas are a natural raising agent so they deliver a lovely high, springy loaf. Gorgeously banana-y too!

2 over-ripe bananas
100g light brown sugar
125g wholegrain spelt flour
125g self-raising flour
50ml soya milk
50ml rapeseed oil
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsps NoEgg mixed with 4tblsps water (or 2 beaten eggs for non vegans)

o Preheat the oven to 160˚C
o Grease a loaf tin
o Break the peeled bananas into a bowl and whizz with the sugar (I used a hand blender)
o Add the NoEgg mix (or eggs), oil and soya milk and whizz again
o Fold in the dry ingredients & pour into the loaf tin
o Bake for 55 to 60 minutes. Test with a skewer.
o Gorgeous hot or cold, on its own or with soya cream/custard/Alpro 'yogurt'

VEGAN DATE & ORANGE BARS

2010-08-21T16:55:00.000+01:00

I love dates and find them a brilliant sweetener in cakes and slices. I've adapted this recipe from one in Rachel Allen's Bake, a book that my sister gave us as a wedding present. I added an orange because it's a flavour that goes so well with dates. As usual, I've reduced the sugar in the original recipe. Most recipes use far too much sugar IMO. Sugar ages you, people, and generally you can reduce it with v little effect to sweetness.

200g chopped dates
Juice and zest of 1 large orange
150ml water
175g plain flour
125g brown sugar
100g porridge oats
175g vegan margarine
half tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

o Preheat the oven to 180˚C
o Grease a square cake tin (20cm x 20cm). Line the bottom with greaseproof paper.
o Heat the dates, orange juice, water and zest over a low heat until soft (about 10 mins). Allow to cool
o Sieve the flour and baking powder
o Mix in the sugar, salt and porridge oats
o Rub in the vegan marg until it all sticks together in clumps
o Press half the mix into the bottom of your tin, tamp it down
o Plop blobs of the date mix onto the base at intervals and smooth down
o Put the rest of the oat/marg mix on top until the dates are covered. Tamp down.
o Bake for 40 minutes, until golden-brown.
o Cool in the tin before slicing into bars

VEGAN FLAPJACKS

2010-08-09T19:28:00.000+01:00

Flapjacks are the easiest thing to make. OK, they are not super healthy except for the porridge oats but they are yummy. The recipe is a veganised version of one from a book called Porridge by Margaret Briggs which is full of no-frills, good recipes.

125g vegan marg

75g brown sugar

3 tblsps golden syrup

250g porridge oats

• Preheat oven to 180C

• Lightly grease a shallow baking tray
• Melt the sugar, marg and syrup together in a pot

• Mix in the porridge oats

• Flatten out on the baking tray with a wooden spoon

• Bake for 25-30 minutes

• Mark into squares or bars

• Leave to cool in the tin, then remove

Vegan Rhubarb and Pear Crumble

2010-07-31T20:19:00.001+01:00

My friend Debbie brought us rhubarb from her garden in Kilconnell and I couldn’t decide whether to make my rhubarb cake or a crumble with it. Mr Vegan loves crumble so, as it’s a bank holiday week-end, and we actually get some time together, I went for that. The recipe is spliced from several different ones and I threw in a pear for sweetness. It’s nice and spicy and the crumble is good and thick. We had it with soya custard. Yum!

Topping

100g spelt flour
70g vegan marg
45g brown sugar
50 g porridge oats

Filling

4 stalks rhubarb, chopped
1 pear, peeled and chopped
¼ tsp mixed spice
1 tsp cinnamon
juice and zest of an orange
50g brown sugar

Method

• Preheat oven to 180C
• Stir the filling ingredients over a low heat until the sugar melts and the fruit starts to soften
• Pour the mix into a pie dish and let it cool while you make the topping
• Rub the marg into the flour
• Add the sugar and oats and mix through with your fingers
• Pour the topping onto the fruit and pat down with your hands
• Bake for 30 minutes
• Serve hot or cold, with soya cream or custard

VEGAN WEDDING CAKE

2010-07-19T13:54:00.001+01:00

We got married in May (in lovely New York) and on Saturday last we had a family lunch here in Ireland for which I made our wedding cake. It's my Christmas Cake recipe and it turned out great. I cheated and bought the fondant icing but it was easy to put on and looked nice.

Wedding cake ingredients ready to go

Our vegan wedding cake

The top of the cake

Vegan Rice Krispie Buns

2010-06-01T18:04:00.000+01:00

I am a hunger monster at the moment. Is it boredom? Frustration? Madness induced by motherhood?! All three?!? Anyway, what ever it is I am obsessed with goodies. Today I wanted homemade biscuits (cookies, to my American pals) but I didn't have the right flour.

OK, I thought, flapjacks will do, I'll make them. Guess what? Hardly any porridge oats. Grrr.

So what did I make? Essentially, vegan rice krispie buns. Do our American friends have these? They are a birthday party must-have in Ireland. They are Rice Krispies mixed into melted chocolate, then left to set.

There has been a bar of vegan couverture chocolate in the press since Xmas. Mr Vegan got it as part of his Xmas box from someone. I don't think the someone realised it was posh cooking chocolate.
Anyway, out it came today and I inspected it closely: it's organic, vegan and has raisins and almonds in it. Mmmm. There is so much written on the wrapper it's hard to know what's what. Anyway, the gist is it's by Organica, as part of their Vegan Diets range, and it's made in Switzerland for a company in England. The web address is www.seriouslyorganic.co.uk and they do lots of lovely stuff.

So I present to you, Vegan Rice Krispie Buns:

VEGAN LEMON & SESAME SEED LOAF

2010-04-14T17:42:00.002+01:00

On last night's Desperate Housewives, Bree said baking is 'all about precision'. Not with me Mrs Van de Kamp-Hodge. No, here it's all about cravings and experimentation (the latter not always successful).

Today's experiment is Lemon and Sesame Seed Loaf. Hmm. We had delicious Lemon and Poppy Seed muffins in Paperchase in London at the week-end and I've had lemon cake cravings since Easter, so here we are. Our local veg shop, which also sells seeds, didn't have poppy seeds so instead I bought sesame and just sprinkled them on top. It turned out grand - not very sweet but the lemony-ness makes up for that. Add another 25g to 50 g sugar if you like a sweeter loaf.

Here's the recipe:

150 g of wholemeal spelt flour
100 g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
25 g of light brown sugar
25 g of caster sugar
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp NoEgg mixed with 2tblsps water (or 1 beaten egg for non vegans)
150 mls of soya milk
juice and rind of one large lemon
1 tblsp vegetable oil
a handful of sesame seeds

* Preheat the oven to 160˚C
* Grease a 2lb loaf tin (or line with paper liner)
* Zest the lemon, then squeeze it
* Sieve the flour
* Mix flour, sugar and spice
* Make the NoEgg mix as per pack
* In a jug, mix together the soya milk, oil and NoEgg mixture
* Make a well in the flour and beat in the milky mixture
* Fold in the lemon zest and lemon juice
* Pour the mixture into the loaf tin. Gently shake to flatten the top
* Sprinkle with the sesame seeds
* Bake for an hour in the top of the oven. Move down a shelf if top browning too quickly.
* Test with a skewer to see if it is baked through
* Cool the cake in the tin

VEGAN DATE AND MUESLI SLICE

2010-02-09T12:35:00.000Z

I adapted this from a Café Fresh recipe. I had to adapt it because their recipe included seeds and when I went to the press, the seed box was almost empty. So I threw in muesli, flaked almonds and a mushed up Weetabix instead. Necessity. Mother. Invention etc etc. This recipe is sugar free – so good for you!
I used a 12” x 9” oval ovenproof dish – a square one might work better for slicing.

240 g chopped dates
Juice and zest of 1 large orange
140g porridge oats
70 g muesli (try for one with seeds)
20 g flaked almonds
110g vegan margarine

o Preheat the oven to 180˚C
o Heat the dates, orange juice and zest over a low heat until soft (about 5 mins)
o Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl
o Rub in the vegan marg until it all sticks together
o Press half teh mix into the bottom of your ovenproof dish, tamp it down
o Plop blobs of the date mix onto the base at intervals and smooth down with your wooden spoon
o Put the rest of the oat/marg mix on top until the dates are covered. Tamp down.
o Bake for 25 minutes, until golden-brown.
o Cool in the dish before slicing – it may be crumbly. Who cares? Have more!

Vegan Apple Cake

2010-01-24T17:21:00.004Z

Readers of this blog will know that I am mildly obsessed with apple cakes. I had HUGE cravings for them while pregnant and I am still searching for the right taste. I made up this recipe in an attempt to get what I am looking for. Did I succeed? YES! It’s the nearest in taste to my mother’s cake that I’ve yet had. It is not a very sweet cake (I am on a health kick so I put in v little sugar and v little fat) but it is really delicious. It's more of a loaf, really. And it's so healthy! My mother famously used to ‘forget’ to put sugar in apple tarts. She will love this cake/loaf which I will have to bake for her asap.

250 g of wholemeal self raising flour

2 med/large cooking apples

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp NoEgg mixed with 2tblsps water (or 1 beaten egg for non vegans)

200 mls of soya milk

50 g of light brown sugar

1 tblsp vegetable oil

30 g flaked almonds

Preheat the oven to 160˚C
Grease a 2lb loaf tin (or line with paper liner)
Peel the cooking apples and chop into small pieces
Sprinkle the cinnamon on the apples
Mix flour, sugar and spice
Make the NoEgg mix as per pack
In a jug, mix together the soya milk, oil and NoEgg mixture
Make a well in the flour and beat in the milky mixture
Fold in the chopped apples
Pour the mixture into the loaf tin. Gently shake to flatten the top
Sprinkle with the flaked almonds
Bake for an hour in the top of the oven. Move down a shelf if top browning too quickly.
Test with a skewer to see if it is baked through
Cool the cake in the tin

VEGAN FOOD PYRAMID CHART

2010-01-06T18:29:00.001Z

Isn't this great? Click the image to see bigger version. Buy the poster for your wall here.

INDIVIDUAL VEGAN CHRISTMAS CAKES

2009-12-19T18:52:00.001Z

This is my normal vegan Xmas cake recipe with some minor adjustments. Pluses: these take less cooking time and are nicely two-mouthful sized. We have scoffed our big cake already and I needed something nice to bring to an Xmas tea party so I decided to try my normal recipe as individual cakes, for a change. I'm so glad that these worked.

INGREDIENTS

350 gr wholegrain spelt flour
175gr vegan marg
175gr light muscovado sugar
1 tsp mixed spice
150gr sultanas
200gr raisins
150gr dates
50 gr flaked almonds
1 tblsp treacle
100gr glacé cherries, halved
grated zest of an orange
2 tblsps ground almonds
120ml soya milk
2 tblsps red wine vinegar
¾ tsp of bread soda (bicarbonate of soda)
6 tblsps (90ml) brandy

• Preheat the oven to 160˚C
• Line a shallow bun tin with paper cases
• Sieve the flour and spice
• Rub in the marg until the mix is like breadcrumbs
• Stir in the flaked almonds and treacle
• Add the sugar, dried fruit, cherries, orange zest and ground almonds and mix
• Warm half the soya milk in a small pot and add the vinegar
• Dissolve the bread soda in the rest of the soya milk, then add
this to the milk and vinegar mix
• Stir this into flour and fruit mix until well combined
• Spoon mix into the bun cases and smooth the top
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a skewer/cocktail stick comes out clean
• Brush the tops of the cakes with the brandy
• Cool on a wire rack

FOR THE ICING

500g icing sugar
60ml water
15ml lemon juice (1 tblsp)

• Sieve the icing sugar
• Mix in the water and lemon juice to from a paste
• Microwave on high for 30 seconds until runny
• Pour one dessertspoon of icing onto each cake
• Top with an almond or a glacé cherry or a sweetie - whatever you like!

VEGAN CARROT BUNS / MUFFINS

2009-11-02T15:44:00.004Z

VEGAN CARROT MUFFINS/BUNS

Muffins to me are really large, greasy, shop-bought buns. In Ireland buns are small muffins, kind of. Anyway these are healthy and tasty and hit the right note for this time of year: spice and raisins. A real Hallowe'en combination.

5oz wholemeal self-raising flour
2oz light muscovado sugar
2oz walnuts
4 oz carrots grated (about 3 small carrots)
2 oz sultanas
2 oz chopped walnuts
½ lidful vanilla essence
2½ oz melted vegan marg
1tsp NoEgg mixed with 2tblsps water (or 1 egg beaten for non-vegans)
1 tsp nutmeg
1tsp cinnamon
60ml soya milk

pre heat oven to 200c

• grate the carrots
• mix the dry ingredients in a bowl
• add the sultanas and walnuts
• make the No Egg mix (or beat the egg) in a jug, with the milk and vanilla essence
• mix in the grated carrots
• mix in the melted marg
• add this mix to the dry ingredients
• divide into the 12 bun cases
• bake for 25 minutes

JUNO AS A WITCH ON HALLOWEE'EN

VEGAN CHRISTMAS CAKE

2009-10-21T19:31:00.007+01:00

I've made my Xmas cake. Yes, last night I made it and we all had a stir and a wish. My wish from last year came true - a healthy baby girl - so I have high hopes for this year's wish!

I fancied a change, so I trawled through all my books and the net for a new vegan Xmas cake recipe but, in the end, I decided to use the same one I've used the last few years. The cake is so utterly delicious, I just knew it'd be better than all the recipes I studied over the last week.

Go here for the recipe I posted last year, which comes courtesy of the fabulous Rose Elliott - with some adaptation.

Calling this an Xmas cake in this house is laughable really, because we tend to eat it from the start of November until it runs out. It calls to us from the tin...and anyway, Christmas is so goody-packed, you don't really need a cake, do you??!!

VEGAN OAT APPLE CAKE

2009-10-07T17:30:00.005+01:00

This cake screams good health and a slice makes a great snack. It's sugar free too! Mine turned out a tad crumbly (again!) but is still delish.

Preheat the oven to 190 C

3 apples, peeled & chopped finely
1 carrot, peeled & grated
60g chopped walnuts
120ml veg oil (rape or sunflower)
100g raisins
150g plain flour
80g porridge oats
1 tsp vanilla essence
30ml soya milk

Lightly grease a 2lb loaf tin
Sieve the flour into a large bowl
Mix in the porridge oats
Mix in the apples, walnuts, carrot & raisins
Add the soya milk and vanilla essence and stir
Mix in the veg oil
Spoon into the tin and bake for one hour
Cool in the tin before turning out

This is lovely plain or with a blob of soya dessert.

MR VEGAN'S BIRTHDAY CARROT CAKE

2009-09-29T21:06:00.002+01:00

RASPBERRY VEGAN LOAF

2009-08-09T18:21:00.011+01:00

Raspberries are in season and I’ve been craving them in a cake for a few weeks. I wanted a simple recipe, so I’ve made one up based on several different fruity cake recipes. I’ve used one of my cool new paper loaf tin liners as I’m fed up greasing tins.

As you can see, the fruit fell to the bottom. It's still very tasty but it means the mixture may have been too liquidy, too slack. Solution? I will have to be more rigorous measuring the soya milk next time - maybe use a bit less to make a thicker batter that will suspend the fruit properly. I could also dust the raspberries in flour to hold them in place.

Raspberry Vegan Loaf

50ml veg oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
2tsp NoEgg mixed with 2tblsps water or 2 eggs, lightly beaten, for non vegans
100ml soya milk
175g spelt flour
2 tsp baking powder
75g light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
125g raspberries

• Preheat oven to 180˚C
• Grease a 2lb loaf tin (or use a snazzy paper loaf tin liner!)
• Combine the oil, lemon juice, NoEgg mix and milk in a jug
• Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
• Add the milky mix to the flour mix and stir
• Fold in the raspberries.
• Empty batter into loaf tin and bake for an hour
• Test with a skewer
• Let it cool in the tin on a wire rack

JUNO'S CHRISTENING 'CAKE' PICS

2009-08-05T19:42:00.005+01:00

SWEET VEGAN BUNS

2009-07-20T13:02:00.013+01:00

Good old Nigella - she can always be relied upon for simple, sweet cakes and so it was that I turned to her for a bun/fairycake recipe. I haven't made these since I was a kid but want to make & decorate them for my new baby's Christening, instead of a cake. (I'm not sure the kids in attendance would appreciate my healthy spelt ones...) So we had a practice run this morning - making a vegan version of Nigella's buns - and oh, yum yum!

I'm not sure how Nigella would feel about the veganising of her recipe - she is notoriously disapproving of vegetarians - but these buns are perfectly sweet little mouthfuls. I use Pure's new sunflower spread with Omega 3 & 6 where Nigey uses butter but I doubt if this alters the scrumminess of these buns.

I don't think I'll get to ice them today - my boys are grabbing them from the rack while they are still hot. I'll post the iced ones from Juno's Christening after the 2nd August.

125g caster sugar
125g self-raising flour
125g vegan merg, melted a little (softened)
½ tsp vanilla essence
2tsp NoEgg mixed with 2tblsps water (or 2 eggs for non vegans)
2 tblsps soya milk

Preheat oven to 200˚C
Line a 12-space bun tin
Throw all the ingredients into a bowl, except the milk; beat well with a wooden spoon
Add the milk slowly and beat in gently
Plop the (quite runny) mixture into the bun cases
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until golden on top
Cool on a wire rack

VEGAN BANANA BREAD

2009-06-29T13:06:00.006+01:00

I’ve adapted this recipe (beyond recognition really) from a Nigella recipe in the wonderful How to be a Domestic Goddess. Nigella, of course, uses booze and extra sugar, but I wanted a more modest cake. Not that there’s anything wrong with rum or sugar but I am attempting to eat healthily, post baby. Therefore, homemade cake. Ahem. Even with less sugar the cake is gorgeously sweet and moist thanks to the bananas and dates.

175gr of plain flour
2 tsps baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp salt
2tsp NoEgg mixed with 2tblsps water (or 2 beaten eggs for non vegans)
100gr of light brown sugar
125g vegan margarine, melted
100g whole seedless, soft dates
3 or 4 smallish ripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla essence

o Preheat the oven to 170˚C
o Grease a 2lb loaf tin
o Mash the bananas
o Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and bicarbonate of soda in one bowl
o In another larger bowl mix the melted sugar with the marg and beat until blended together
o Beat in NoEgg mix (or the eggs, one at a time), then the mashed bananas
o Stir in the dates and vanilla essence
o Add the flour mixture, one third at a time, mixing each portion well in
o Pour into the loaf tin and shake the tin to settle the mixture
o Bake for an hour in the middle of the oven.
o Test with a cocktail stick or skewer to see if it is baked through
o Let it cool in the tin on a wire rack

LIGHT WALNUT & RAISIN CAKE

2009-06-19T09:01:00.002+01:00

This is a lighter, less sugar- and fruit-heavy version of a previous cake I posted here. It uses golden syrup instead of treacle and gives a nice light-coloured, sweet loaf. Spread with vegan marg - the way we Irish eat brack - or eat plain with a hot cup of tea. Lovely!

INGREDIENTS:

225gr of self raising flour
1 tsp mixed spice
1tsp NoEgg mixed with 2tblsps water (or 1 beaten egg for non vegans)
1½ tablespoons of golden syrup
200mls of soya milk
50gr of light brown sugar
200gr of raisins or dates and raisins
100gr walnuts
30gr flaked almonds

METHOD:

o Preheat the oven to 160˚C
o Grease a 2lb loaf tin
o Sieve the flour and spice, mix in sugar, dried fruits and walnuts
o Heat the soya milk and the golden syrup gently until they are thoroughly combined, but be careful not to over heat.
o Mix the NoEgg mix (or beaten egg) into the treacle and milk. Then mix this mixture into the dry ingredients
o Put the mixture into the loaf tin. Gently shake to flatten the top
o Sprinkle with the flaked almonds
o Bake for an hour and ten minutes in the top of the oven.

Vegan Rhubarb Cake

2009-04-03T17:00:00.000+01:00

This is a satisfyingly big, sweet and moist cake using the first Irish-grown seasonal fruit. We got some rhubarb in our organic veg basket and I wanted to find a tasty recipe (this has turned into a cake blog somehow!) to use it in. I adapted this to my own purposes from a recipe I found online from Marian McCormack. It has way more sugar than I’d normally use in baking, but what the hell. It smells gorgeous when it's baking too.

Ingredients:

150g rhubarb (about 4 fat stalks)
160g self raising flour
1 level tsp baking powder
150g wholegrain spelt flour
200g light muscovado sugar
125g pot strawberry soya yoghurt
2 tsps vanilla essence
2tsps NoEgg mixed with 4tblsps water (OR 2 eggs, lightly beaten)
125g vegan margarine, melted

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180˚C
• Lightly grease an 8 in round cake tin and line base with baking paper
• Finely slice the rhubarb
• Sieve the flour and baking powder then combine with the rhubarb and sugar in a bowl
• Add vanilla essence, NoEgg mixture or eggs, soya yoghurt and melted marg, stirring until mixture is combined
• Spoon mixture into cake tin and bake for 1 hour, or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the cake

Serve hot or cold with soya yogurt or soya cream.

VEGAN CARROT CAKE

2009-03-27T16:42:00.000Z

I needed a nice cake to bake for my Da's 75th birthday and I know he loves carrot cake, so I've adapted this recipe to suit. Da's not a vegan but he is a healthy eater. This is an insanely simple cake (though it’s a bit of work) and it’s low in sugar and fat per slice; it hits a few food groups too, what with the carrots, walnuts and flour. It’s positively healthy, I think!
(I know some vegans object to honey but Mr Vegan doesn’t, so I use it in this recipe.)
This cake is 'low-sized' - a euphemism for squat-looking - so if you really wanted to scrape and grate six carrots, you could make two, and sandwich them with vegan cream or butter cream.

For the cake

100 gr wholemeal flour
100 gr plain flour
100 gr light muscovado sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
100 gr vegan margarine
6 tblsps honey
225 gr (2 medium/3small) carrots, grated

For the lemon icing (optional)

Royal icing – I used 175gr
Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
15ml water
2 tsp (10 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
50 gr chopped walnuts to decorate

Method:

• Preheat oven to 160°C
• Grease and line an 8 inch cake tin
• Peel and grate the carrots
• Mix together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking powder
• Melt the marg with the honey and sugar, then mix into the flour
• Stir in the grated carrot and combine well
• Spoon into the cake tin and bake for 1 hour until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, turn onto a wire rack to cool
• Make up the Royal Icing as per pack, mixing the lemon juice, lemon zest and water where the pack just says water
• When it’s cooled, ice the cake with a small spatula and dot with the walnuts before the icing sets

SAINT PATRICK'S DAY VEGAN BUNS!

2009-03-17T11:38:00.000Z

Finn decorating the buns

Citrusy tricolour buns for Paddy's Day

Happy Saint Patrick's Day, everyone!!

And here are some festive buns to celebrate our national saint. At home we always called these buns, others called them fairy cakes or queen cakes, and nowadays they are called muffins or cupcakes. Whatever you choose to call them, they are a zesty treat and kids LOVE helping with the decorating, as you can see.

Makes 12 small buns.

Preheat oven to 180˚C

FOR THE BUNS
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 small orange, zested and juiced
250 gr (9oz) wholegrain spelt flour
50gr (2oz) light muscovado sugar
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp mixed spice
150ml soya milk (or ordinary milk for non-vegans)
1 tsp NoEgg mixed with 2tblsps water (non vegans can use one beaten egg)
2 tblsps vegetable oil
12 muffin or bun cases

FOR THE TRICOLOUR DECORATIONS
I used a mix-with-water Royal icing. Vegan versions available.
Greeen and orange jelly tots!! (Or any suitably festive sweeties...)

• Put cases into bun tray
• Zest the orange and lemon, then half them and squeeze them. Strain the juice and put to one side
• Mix the citrus zest, flour, spice, sugar and baking powder in a bowl
• Make up the NoEgg as per pack (or beat your egg)
• In a jug, mix together the soya milk, oil and NoEgg mixture
• Make a well in the flour and beat in the milky mixture
• Mix in the lemon and orange juice until combined
• Divide the mixture between the muffin cases
• Bake for 30 minutes
• Leave the buns to cool, then make up the icing (as per pack) and decorate. Leave to set for about half an hour (not in the fridge) and eat!

Vegan Apple and Cinnamon Cake

2009-02-02T19:31:00.000Z

I've been searching for the perfect Apple and Cinnamon Cake recipe to satisfy a craving for a cake my Ma used to make. She remembers the cake but not the recipe. I've tried a few and this one comes close, I think. Though it still doesn't have the dark and bready quality that I'm longing for. I've adapted it from a recipe I found in the Kilkenny Cookbook. It is a 'work' cake and I am a lazy, impatient baker, so this is one for when I have the inclination to be more fiddly - and the time.

Excuse the blurry photo; I don't know why but lots of the photos we take lately seem to be blurred. Getting old?! It's just to give an idea of what it might look like.

Here goes anyway:

Juice of one large orange
75 grs raisins
250 gr wholemeal self-raising flour
125 gr vegan marg
125 gr light brown sugar
2 tsps ground cinnamon
2 large eating apples
2 tsps NoEgg mixed with 4tblsps water (or 2 beaten eggs for non vegans)

Preheat the oven to 180˚C
Line an 8" round cake tin with baking paper
Soak the raisins in the orange juice
Sift the flour and rub in the marg, until it's like breadcrumbs
Mix in the cinnamon and sugar
Peel the apples, cut into small chunks and mix in
Add the soaked fruit and NoEgg mixture, and mix thoroughly
Spoon the mixture into the tin and flatten the top
Bake for 30 to 35 mins and test with a skewer
Cool in the tin on a wire rack for ten minutes, then take it out and carefully peel off the paper.

Delicious hot or cold, with soy cream, ice-cream or custard. Or on its own with a cuppa!

POST PUNK KITCHEN

2009-01-13T09:29:00.000Z

Thanks to artist/blogger/baker Sarah Gostrangely for pointing me in the direction of a great vegan/veggie cookery website: Post Punk Kitchen. Below is just one of the many gems from its archives:

Flax Seeds as an Egg Substitute in Baking:

How to use it:

1 Tablespoon flax seeds plus 3 Tablespoons water replaces one egg. Finely grind 1 tablespoon whole flaxseeds in a blender or coffee grinder, or use 2 1/2 tablespoons pre-ground flaxseeds. Transfer to a bowl and beat in 3 tablespoons of water using a whisk or fork. It will become very gooey and gelatinous, much like an egg white. In some recipes, you can leave the ground flax in the blender and add the other wet ingredients to it, thus saving you the extra step of the bowl.

When it works best:
Flax seeds have a distinct earthy granola taste. It tastes best and works very well in things like pancakes, and whole grain items, such as bran muffins and corn muffins. It is perfect for oatmeal cookies, and the texture works for cookies in general, although the taste may be too pronounced for some. Chocolate cake-y recipes have mixed results, I would recommend only using one portion flax-egg in those, because the taste can be overpowering.

Tips:
Always store ground flaxseeds in the freezer because they are highly perishable. This mixture is not only an excellent replacement for eggs, it also contributes vital omega-3 fatty acids.

THE LAZY HUNGRY VEGAN BLOGGER APOLOGISES

2009-01-07T14:54:00.000Z

I've been so lazy about posting here - SORRY!. I'm still catching up after Xmas and all the lazing about and lovely food. We had coriander potato cakes and all the trimmings for our Xmas day dinner. Yum. We got the recipe from one of those BBC veggie Xmas mags. I buy one each year and then cut out the recipes I like. I couldn't say what issue the recipe was from, but I can post it here when I have more time.

We also got some lovely new veggie cook books which I will review in a small way very soon.

Happy New Year!

VEGAN FRUIT & WALNUT LOAF

2008-12-19T08:31:00.001Z

Here's my December cake. Well, one of them. There may be one more before the month is out. I'm gone cake mad!

VEGAN FRUIT AND WALNUT LOAF

225gr of self raising flour
1 tsp mixed spice
1tsp NoEgg mixed with 2tblsps water (or 1 beaten egg for non vegans)
1½ tablespoons of treacle
200mls of soya milk
100gr of light brown sugar
225gr of raisins
100gr walnuts
30gr flaked almonds

o Preheat the oven to 160˚C
o Grease a 2lb loaf tin
o Sieve the flour and spice, mix in sugar, dried fruits and walnuts
o Heat the soya milk and the treacle gently until they are thoroughly combined, but be careful not to over heat.
o Mix the NoEgg mix into the treacle and milk. Then mix this mixture into the dry ingredients
o Put the mixture into the loaf tin. Gently shake to flatten the top
o Sprinkle with the flaked almonds
o Bake for an hour and ten minutes in the top of the oven.
o Test with a skewer to see if it is baked through

CAKE & VEGGIE XMAS DEMO PORTUMNA

2008-12-11T11:57:00.001Z

We have eaten all of our vegan Xmas cake, bar one tiny smidgin. Sigh. Only two other people - our friends John and Malcolm - got to taste it. It really was delicious: crumbly, moist, full of taste. I think the combination of dates and brandy are what made it so, so good.

So now I think I need another cake; a December cake, if you will. And I need to decide what that will be. Stay tuned!

Last night we went to a Vegetarian Christmas Cookery Demonstration, run by Ann Mills, in the An Gáirdín Organic Centre in Portumna, 20 miles away. Everything was fresh, organic, seasonal and local, where possible. None of the food was vegan, but all the recipes were adaptable. Most of the produce was grown on site.

We were welcomed with a hot blackcurrant drink. They then made carrot and coriander soup to start; leek and tomato croustade for the main, with parsnips, brussels sprouts and roast potatoes; and an apple and yogurt trifle for dessert. All of it was delicious. Mr Vegan could taste very little but enjoyed what he did sample. After the demo, they served us a 3 course meal. I thought we'd get a little taster but it was bountiful. It was a lovely evening in good company, and considering the dinner I ate, good value at €35 each.

An Gáirdín run other courses throughout the year and their site is here.

FIG AND ORANGE MUFFINS

2008-12-04T18:07:00.000Z

Here's a seasonal take on my regular spelt muffins. Oranges are so Christmassy, are they not? They just smell like Christmas to me.

Makes 12 small, figgy-orange muffins.

Preheat oven to 180˚C

125 gr of halved or quartered ready-to-eat figs
rind and juice of 1 large orange
250 gr (9oz) wholegrain spelt flour
25gr (1oz) light muscovado sugar
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp mixed spice
100ml soya milk
1 tsp NoEgg mixed with 2tblsps water (non vegans can use one beaten egg)
2 tblsps vegetable oil
12 muffin or bun cases

• Put muffin cases into bun tray
• Zest the orange, then half it and squeeze it
• Cut up the figs into halves or quarters (depends how big they are) and remove any stalks
• Soak the figs in the orange juice and rind
• Mix the flour, spice, sugar and baking powder in a bowl
• Make up the NoEgg as per pack (or beat your egg)
• In a jug, mix together the soya milk, oil and NoEgg mixture
• Make a well in the flour and beat in the milky mixture
• Mix in the fig and orange mixture until combined
• Divide the mixture between the muffin cases
• Bake for 30 minutes

[ ORGANIC ] VEGAN CHRISTMAS CAKE

2008-10-27T15:33:00.000Z

EVERYTHING READY TO GO

MAKING A WISH

THE FINISHED CHRISTMAS CAKE

You can use all organic ingredients, but you don’t have to. This makes a lovely moist, boozy and fruity cake. We eat it plain but you can buy vegan marzipan and icing to decorate it if you like. I like to get everything measured and ready before I start, so that the making of the cake goes smoothly.

INGREDIENTS

350 gr wholegrain spelt flour
175gr vegan marg
175gr light muscovado sugar
1 tsp mixed spice
150gr sultanas
200gr raisins
150gr dates
50 gr flaked almonds
1 tblsp treacle
100gr glacé cherries, halved
grated zest of an orange
2 tblsps ground almonds
120ml soya milk
2 tblsps red wine vinegar
¾ tsp of bread soda (bicarbonate of soda)
6 tblsps (90ml) brandy

• Preheat oven to 150˚C
• Grease an 8” cake tin and line with a double layer of greased greaseproof
• Sieve the flour and spice
• Rub in the marg until the mix is like breadcrumbs
• Stir in the flaked almonds and treacle
• Add the sugar, dried fruit, cherries, orange zest and ground almonds and mix
• Warm half the soya milk in a small pot and add the vinegar
• Dissolve the bread soda in the rest of the soya milk, then add
this to the milk and vinegar mix
• Stir this into flour and fruit mix until well combined
• Spoon mix into greased tin and smooth the top
• Bake for 2 hours, until a skewer/cocktail stick comes out clean
• Leave cake in tin to cool, then turn out and peel off greaseproof
• Prick cake with a cocktail stick and feed with a third of the brandy
• Wrap cake in greaseproof and store in a tin
• Feed with the rest of the brandy at weekly intervals
• Will keep for 4 weeks

XMAS CAKEY TIME

2008-10-23T11:58:00.000+01:00

I love this time of year: the leaves; the winter coats, hats and gloves; the making of the Christmas cake. I'll be posting a recipe for an organic vegan Christmas cake very soon. I adapted it from a Rose Elliott fruit cake. I've made it the last two years and it is fruity, rich, and brandy-soaked for extra flavour and a soft texture.

I make my cake early because we start to eat it from early December. Christmas Day itself is so packed with food that we like to start early with a nice fruity cake and maybe some mince pies. My mouth is watering even thinking about them...

Stay tuned!

HUNGRY VEGAN PIZZA

2008-09-08T12:16:00.000+01:00

At last, the vegan pizza recipe. Makes 3 medium pizzas.
INGREDIENTS

Pizza dough:
175 gr plain or strong white flour
175 gr wholemeal spelt flour
5 gr fast-acting yeast
1 tsp salt
200 mls warm water

Toppings:
passata
sweetcorn
chopped red, green and / or yellow peppers
chopped onion
chopped garlic
olive oil

METHOD

Put flour in bowl, stir in salt and yeast

Pour in water and mix to a dough

Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes

Brush with water and leave in tea-towel covered bowl for an hour or so, to rise

Break into 2 or 3 pieces, and roll out

Spoon passata on top and smooth out

Toss the veg in olive oil to prevent drying

Bake base at 180C for 5 mins

Sprinkle with sweetcorn, peppers, garlic and onion

Bake at 180C for a further 10 to 15 mins.

Eat!!

SOWAN'S SPELT BREAD

2008-09-03T18:18:00.000+01:00

OK, this is not exactly a recipe but I discovered this great organic bread mix at the Farmer's Market at the Electric Picnic and felt the need to share.

You can make it with soya milk for a vegan loaf. They assure me I'll be able to buy the mix in Athlone, so I will be looking out for it.

All you need is the mix - I used their Mega Spelt Bread Mix which has linseed, pumpkin and sunflower seeds in it - and 350ml of soya milk. You cook it at 200 C and it yields a very unspelty, very un-soya-y loaf. (And that's a good thing.) It's a lot like real brown soda bread. Yum!

The enormous tomatoes come courtesy of our weekly organic veg basket from Beechlawn Organic Farm. The bread is actually a hefty 2lb loaf.

Their website is Sowan's Organic and it's here.

DAMN TASTY VEGAN AT WORK

2008-05-28T13:15:00.000+01:00

Here's Mr Vegan, hard at work making pizza dough for vegan pizzas. Recipe to follow.

SUMMER FRUITS JAM

2008-05-01T11:54:00.000+01:00

I used frozen summer fruit – blackberries, red currants, raspberries, black currants – and Siúcra’s Sure-Set Jam Sugar, but you can use ordinary sugar; use the juice of two lemons, instead of one, if you use ordinary sugar.

The jars are heated to stop them cracking when the hot jam is poured in. This amount made five pots of jam, a lovely smell in the kitchen, and a happy hour together for me and my littlest son.

Preheat oven to 180˚C to warm the jam jars

1kg fresh or frozen berries
1kg sure-set jam sugar
juice of 1 lemon

• Simmer the berries and the lemon juice together in a big pot until the fruit is soft
• Stir in the sugar until it dissolves
• Put 5 dry, clean jam jars into the heated oven for 5 minutes
• Bring the mix to the boil, put the lid on the pot, and boil vigorously for 4 minutes
• Carefully fill the hot jars with the very hot jam using a small ladle
• Cover with wax discs, or the jam jar lids, and stand to cool

DATE & SPELT MUFFINS

2008-04-28T14:12:00.001+01:00

You can use wholewheat flour instead of spelt flour if you prefer, but the spelt flour gives a lighter texture. These are a great snack: low in sugar but sweet because of the dates. Instead of dates, I also sometimes use the equivalent weight (150gr) in chopped apple, mashed banana or grated carrot, or blueberries.

This recipe makes 12 small, tasty, low GI muffins.

Preheat oven to 180˚C

250 gr (9oz) wholegrain spelt flour
25gr (1oz) light muscovado sugar
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp mixed spice
150ml soya milk
1tsp NoEgg mixed with 2tblsps water
150 gr of chopped, de-seeded dates
2 tblsps vegetable oil
12 muffin or bun cases

• Put muffin cases into bun tray
• Mix the flour, spice, sugar and baking powder in a bowl
• Make up the NoEgg as per pack
• In a jug, mix together the soya milk, oil and NoEgg mixture
• Make a well in the flour and beat in the milky mixture
• Mix in the dried fruit until you have a sticky, fruit-studded dough
• Divide the mixture between the muffin cases
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes

The Hungry Vegan - An Intro

2008-04-28T10:07:00.000+01:00

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a vegetarian in search of a good meal, must be in want of a meagre, greasy stir-fry (sorry Jane Austen). This truth is held, it seems, by the restaurateurs and café owners of Ireland, who presume that non-meat eaters are never hungry and that we relish small portions of oily, tasteless food. Most of them seem to believe that anything that isn’t awash in beef/cream/cheese/eggs/butter is just not worth cooking or eating.

But if the restaurant-going vegetarian is isolated, the vegan is in solitary confinement: they are handed the afore-mentioned stir-fry, or alternatively piles of lettuce with dry bread; sometimes they’re given mounds of mashed spud or sagging tomatoes stuffed with bland veg-o-mix and are expected to jump for joy. The vegan is denied roast potatoes, even when they’re not cooked in meat juices, and has to decline every vegetarian option that is thoughtlessly slathered in cheese. Can it be that chefs feel that vegans and veggies are “just being awkward”, and therefore that they are not worth feeding, and feeding well?

We’re here to tell these restaurateurs – and also the meat-munching friends of all non-meat eaters – that vegans are hungry! That they love food – lots of it – and that they care about what goes into their mouths in a way that carnivores just don’t have to. They relish everything they eat because it’s so hard to find anything to eat at all! And, because vegans need to think about and plan every bite, they have to learn how to cook – and fast! – if they want to eat well.

And so, The Hungry Vegan has a five-fold purpose:

1. to show restaurant and café owners what vegans and veggies would really like to eat when they step outside the safety of their own kitchens

2. to provide recipes for the family and friends of vegans, that they will cook for them, instead of pointing at packets of dried pasta and telling them to help themselves, while they tuck into a fragrant lasagna

3. to welcome converts to vegan- and vegetarianism to the fold, with a wide range of fast, tasty, easy-to-make meals and snacks

4. to take the mysteries out of vegan cookery and bring it into mainstream thought as a healthy lifestyle choice

5. to provide information on veganism, including lists of vegan-friendly products, ingredients, restaurants and shops

One of the authors of this blog is a vegan; the other is a vegetarian who cooks for the vegan, so you can assume that we know what we are talking about. However, never make assumptions: our motives are purely selfish. We merely want to make it easier for ourselves to have a decent meal somewhere (anywhere!) that one of us hasn’t had to cook. And, yes, we love Chinese and Indian restaurants, as well as Cork’s Café Paradiso, Cornucopia, Café Fresh and Govinda’s in Dublin, Galway’s Ard Bia, The Mustard Seed in Limerick, and those few other places that make a huge effort to cater for those who don’t eat meat.

We just hope that anyone who drops by here will try out and enjoy the recipes here, while spreading the word that vegans (and veggies) are hungry too!