HOMEMADE HUMMUS

I have gotten out of the habit of making my own hummus (much easier to buy a pot in Aldi) but we've been on a health kick lately, trying to vary our diet and eat unprocessed stuff as much as possible. So I decided to start making hummus again. Also, I tend to like a chunkier, more garlicky hummus than the shops provide.

Hummus goes off quite quickly (3 days max.) so I only wanted two lunches worth, that is four portions, so I used a small can of chickpeas from Tesco - 130g drained weight.

97 kcal per portion, 6g fat

INGREDIENTS
130g chickpeas
20ml olive oil
juice of half a lemon
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon tahini
pinch salt
pinch pepper
2.5ml to 5ml water - optional

METHOD
- Throw everything into a food processor and whizz
- If you don't have a processor, mash the chickpeas with a potato masher then mix the other ingredients through.
- If your hummus is too thick, you can thin it down with a drop of water.

FREE VEGAN BOOK

Get a free vegan cookbook Make It Vegan from Isa Chandra Moskovitz and Breville here. Pdf, or Kindle (only in the USA).

3 BEAN & BASIL SALAD

Three Bean and Basil Salad

More salad, seeing as I promised. I am having this one with dinner. The last time I made it I added flaked almonds (because I had them) but there are none in the press today. The almonds make a nice crunch and should be added just before serving.

INGREDIENTS - serves 2

450g tin of mixed beans (mine was cannellini, flageolet and adzuki)
quarter red pepper, finely chopped
half small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp olive oil
a few basil leaves, torn up small
1 tbsp of flaked almonds (optional)

METHOD
Rinse the beans in cold water and drain
Bung them into a bowl and mix everything else in
If using flaked almonds, add before serving and mix through - doneski!

LURVE VEGAN CAFÉ

 
Well, I finally made it to Lurve Vegan Café on Mary Street in Dublin. It was a case of third time lucky for me, as they had a few teething problems with staffing, so twice before it was closed when I got there. I was delighted to find it open the third time - this place is such a welcome addition to the north inner city.

I got a friendly welcome from the two staff and it was more like visiting someone's house than a café. They had no pen on the day so I gave them a spare and then they wanted to give me my cake for free. I paid, though - they need all the custom they can get.

I had already eaten lunch so I just had their carrot cake and it was sweet, dense and spicy. Delicious. I will definitely be going back next time I am in Dublin for soup, hummus, sandwiches - whatever I can fit in. This time I will bring Mr Vegan so he can delight in having the pick of the menu (a rare treat for him!)

Prices are reasonable and the décor is cute. It was a cold day when I was there and the café felt cold too, but hopefully that will get sorted out.

Follow the lively Lurve Facebook page for all updates on opening times and menus.

Vegan Coconut & Almond Bars

I love coconut. I made a coconut cake recently that I will share anon but first these coconut and almond bars - they are lovely and sweet and chewy and full of good things. I overbaked mine so they turned out a little too golden-brown, so I have reduced the cooking time here. They were still delicious though!

INGREDIENTS:

75g ground almonds

75g porridge oats

50g muesli

150g dessicated coconut

75g brown sugar

half teaspoon salt

185ml soya milk

1 teaspoon almond essence

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 180C
• Grease a baking tray
• Combine the almonds, oats, coconut, muesli, salt and sugar in a large bowl
• Combine the soya milk and almond essence and add to the dry ingredients
• Mix thoroughly, and firmly press (with your hands) onto a greased baking tray
• Cook at 180C for 25 mins, then raise temp to 230C for another 5 mins, or until golden-brown
• Mark into 20 squares while still warm (I used a fish-slice)
• Cool and eat!

VEGAN APPLE CRUMBLE

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

NAME CHANGE - THE VEGAN GOES VEGGIE

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 DATE AND MUESLI SLICE

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 FOOD PYRAMID CHART

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

VEGAN CARROT BUNS / MUFFINS

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

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

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.

RASPBERRY VEGAN LOAF

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

VEGAN BANANA BREAD

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

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

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

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!

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

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!

VEGAN FRUIT & WALNUT LOAF

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