Baked Vegan Doughnuts (peanut butter and chocolate swirl)

They are baked not fried and they are vegan. That's about where the 'healthy' art stops with this recipe. This is my.. drum roll please....

 Peanut butter and Chocolate Swirl baked Vegan Doughnuts with a PB and Chocolate Glaze!

I don't really need to sell them do I? I mean they aren't awful for you and every one deserves a treat now and then and its better then stuffing your face with shop bought desserts filled with additives, PLUS no animals harmed or used in the making. So go for it!

Ingrediants 

 Peanut butter mixture
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 tbsp oil
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup self raising flour
1/3 cup + 1tsbp almond milk
Pinch of salt

-Cream together in a mixing bowl peanut butter, sugar and oil. Add in almond milk and mix until fully combined.
-Gradually mix in flour and salt. Set aside

Chocolate mixture
1 tbsp of peanut butter
1 tbsp oil
2 1/2 tbsp of coco powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup self raising flour
1/3 cup + 1tsbp almond milk

-Cream together in a separate mixing bowl peanut butter, sugar, coco powder and oil. Add in almond milk and mix until fully combined.
-Gradually mix in flour and salt. Set aside

- Grease a doughnut tray thoroughly and spoon in tsp sized portions of both mixture into the mold so they 'swirl' together. Repeat this until all the molds are full. Like so, below...

Babies pre-oven

- Place in a 180 degree oven till a skewer comes out clean
- Remove from tray and leave to cool

Glaze
1/3 cup peanut butter
3 tbsp coco powder
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp agave
1/4 almond milk

-Mix together.. you may need to add more almond milk/peanut butter/ icing sugar to get desired consistency. Agave syrup is optional but it adds a lovely sheen to the icing.
- Ice doughnuts however you like I like to dunk one side on the doughnuts in the icing and twist and viola.

The Lovely glaze

HOZAAAAA

mushroom and thai basil broth

Sorry I've been meaning to post this for like FOREVER, but sadly I have a busy life that i can not dedicate to cooking and blogging food.. but I try my best ;)

Mushrooms are a fabulous fungi. Super low in calorie but super high in B vitamins and taste. I love the earthiness and nuttiness of mushrooms and is perfect for adding bass tones to dishes. Here I've decided to pair them with Thai basil. I have fallen in love with this stuff. My sister introduced it to us when she got back from her gap year in Vietnam and showed us how wonderfull it is when paired with corriander and mint in a rice paper roll. However i think it goes wonderfully with mushrooms. Thai basil is like a sweeter, brighter more aniseed version of our regular basil so when paired with mushroom it brings a lightness to the dish while accentuaing the deepness of the mushroom, it's like adding lemon juice and parsely to mushrooms but better.. so much better.

 This is a perfect little creation to use this beautiful mushroom and thai basil combination.

Mushroom and Thai Basil Broth

 Ingredients (for 2)
 
10 mushrooms (I used chestnut and white but any will do)
1/2 white onion
1/2 a thai chilli
1 inch knob of ginger
2 garlic cloves
1 (good) veg stock cube
3 tbsp of fish sauce (if vegan or veggie replace with 1 additional tbsp of soy/tamari )
3 tbsp of soy/tamari
1/2 tbsp of rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp of Thai basil paste
1/2 tbsp of agave
2 spring onions (scallions/green onions to some)

-Fill the kettle and boil the water. Chop mushrooms and onion into thick slithers, roughly chop the garlic and ginger and de-seed the chill and chop finely. Add all this to a lightly greased pan and apply heat.
- When the pan smell fragrant of garlic and ginger and the vegtables are partially cooked ass one tbsp of Thai basil paste and stir for 1 min max
- Add boiled water so there is enough for 3-4 people in the pan as it will reduce down to 2 portions. Cruble in the stock cube and stir.
- Add soy and fish sauce (if using) and the vinegar. If you don't have rice wine vinegar you can use lime juice or cider vinegar in this recipe. Add your agave and taste. Thai food should have a balance of hot,sour,sweet and salty so you may need to add more agave or vinegar or soy depending on your taste.
- Let it bubble away and reduce down for 15-20 mins or till it taste perfect. Strain the broth removing all the vegetables and garlic and ginger. Return broth to the pan to keep warm and reserve the vegetables.

The assembly

- Place the remainder of the Thai basil paste between two mugs or bowls along with a chopped scallion and the mushrooms and onions you reserved from the broth. Pour in broth and viola!

Which vegetable goes best with jacket potatoes..? Button Mushrooms...

Roasted curried buddha bowl, a whole bowl of good

ROASTED BUDDHA BOWL

This is genuinely the prettiest savory dish I have ever made, it looks like pure health and beauty, fuck that it is health and beauty. A bowl of lightly spiced roasted veg tables and chickpeas with grilled mango and coconut and tahini dressing. I normally cut out most oil in my recipe however I have invested here in coconut oil. At health food stores it is expensive but at your local Asian market i got a bottle for 99p. Coconut oil is one of the best sources of heart-healthy medium-chain fatty acids, notably lauric acid which helps boost your immune system. It is white and solid at room temperature so is great replacement to butter in baking and melts when heated so good for roasting and frying. So here is me investing in my families immune system and heart.

The other great things about this recipe is the amount of fiber, minerals and vitamins you get from all the veggies and chickpeas. I've talked about how great chickpeas are for protien and how cauliflower is fiber awesome before AND how sweet potato is low GI, and all they are all in this bowl of goodness. The spices as well are metabolism boosters and the tahini dressing is full of vitamin B and E, magnesium, iron and calcium due to the tahini. This is just a bowl packed with good. My family loved it so much they didn't leave any for my dad who was out so I had to make more.. I hope you like it as much.


Ingredients (meant to serve 3)

Bowl
1 large sweet potato
1 large purple potato
2 medium onions
2 medium carrots
1 yellow bell pepper
1 mango
1/4 of a medium cauliflower
3 tbsp of coconut oil
3 tsp of your favourite cuury powder
1/2 tsp of cinnamon and the same of cayenne
1 tsp of ground ginger and  the same of coriander
1 large garlic clove crushed
1cm knob of ginger crushed
bunch of fresh coriander
1 tbsp of agave
salt and pepper

Dressing 
1 tbsp agave
2 tbsp tahini
3 tbsp light coconut milk
1 clove of crushed garlic
1 tbsp of lemon juice
1 tsp sesame seed oil 
salt and pepper

- Mix together melted coconut oil, curry powder, crushed garlic and ginger, coriander, cayenne, cinnamon, ground ginger and a large pinch of salt and pepper together in a small bowl, set aside.
-Roughly chop all your veggies in to small chuncks, all roughly the same size so they cook evenly. Toss in the coconut oil and spice mix, reserving tbsp for the chickpeas, and use your hand to massage the spices into the veg (work for that flavour baby).

- Drain the chickepeas and pat them dry. Toss in reserved spice mix.

-Place chickpeas in one tray, the veggies in another and put in a 190 oven. I also put the purple potatoes on another tray to stop the purple color rubbing off of the other veggies.

Babies pre-oven so golden

Lovely lovely lovely

- Check every 5-10 mins to make sure your nut burning your creation. The chickpeas (as they are smallest) will be done first, when they are golden and crunchy remove and toss in a pinch of salt, pepper and a tbsp of agave.





- While the veggies are cooking make your dressing and prepare your mango. Add too a jar all your dressing ingredients. Place the lid back on and shake till all the components have emulsified. Season to taste.

The dressing

- Peel your mango and cut into chunky strips. Cook on one side on a very hot lightly oiled griddle pan. When the mango has nice dark sear lines on one side, gently remove and set aside.
- When the veggies are done remove from oven and place in a bowl with the chickpeas, mango and roughly chopped fresh coriander. Gently toss like it was a salad.

- Serve with your dressing. You can also serve it with crushed plantain chips (for extra crunch), dried apricots and fruit (for a little sweetness) and mango chutney (for a tangy touch)  

VIOLAAAA

Carrot cake time, with a coconut and lime spicy twist

SUCH AN URGE TO MAKE VEGETABLES SWEET!

Seriously, half my posts have vegetables made sweet or with sweet things. I am just fascinated about how well it works. Also its a way of eating your veggies and dessert at the same time. That's what I call logic my friend. My next sweet vegetable adventure is with Carrot Cake. A tad boring but i just really wanted to make it. This one is slightly different however and extremely moist and gooey..

Chia spiced coconut and Carrot Cake with lime cream cheese icing

Ingrediants
2 cups of grated carrot
1/2 cup of raisins
1 cup of coconut milk
1/3 cup liquid sweetener (I used agave)
1 cup of white self raising flour
1 cup of wholemeal self raising flour
baking powder
1 lime
6 green cardamon pods
2 tsps of ground cinnamon
2 tsps of ground ginger
1/2 tsp of ground clove
1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg
1/2 a tub of vegan cream cheese
1/2 cup of icing sugar

-First create your spice mix. Split your cardamon pods and add the seeds to a mortar and grind. Transfer to a large mixing bowl with your cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg.
- Add to the same bowl the rest of your dry cake ingredients (flours, baking powder, salt, carrot) and mix together.
- In a jug (this make it easier to add to your dry ingredients later) mix together honey, coconut milk and 1 tbsp of lime juice
- Gradually add  your wet mix to your dry ingredients and fold together
- Transfer to a cake tin and bake at 180 till a tooth pick comes out clean when inserted into the cake.

My bubaaa pre-oven

- When the cake is baked and cool  mix together your cream cheese the zest of the lime, 2 tsp of lime juice and the icing sugar. depending on your brand of cream cheese or desired consistency of icing you may need to add more or less icing sugar. Mine was more like a thick glaze.
- Viola!

HOZAAAA

My new best friend is a vegetable

Meet my new friend cauliflower!

HEYYYYYY

Me and good ole cauli' are both pale and this means that this white and pasty vegetable is often pushed aside for its more colorful cousin broccoli and kale. Pfftttt pale and interesting I say! Cauliflower is GREAT, it conatins Beta-carotene (the same that's in carrots to help you see in the dark), vitamin C and K and per 100 calories of cauliflower you get 12 grams of fiber..

12 GRAMS!!!!!

ehemm. So here are two versions of baked cauliflower bites for you! Think like popcorn but a vegetable.

Cauliflower Vegan Cheese Bites

Ingredients

Love this stuff.. so cheeeeeseeeey

1/2 a cauliflower
3 tbsp of dairy free cheese sauce powder (plus 1 tbsp extra for dusting)
1 tbsp of italian herbs
5 tbsp of water
salt and pepper


- Pull of the florets of the cauliflower leaving behind the majority of the waxy stems. Cut florets into popcorn size (or smaller) pieces. Place in bowl.
- In a separate small bowl mix together rest of the ingredients. If you don't have the cheesy powder nutritional yeast or any vegan cheese flavoring in powder form will substitute. You want to create a thick sticky mixture that will coat the cauliflower.
-Add you mixture to the cauliflower and coat. Place on a baking tray.

Babies pre-oven

-Toss with extra cheese powder (for extra crispiness) and place in a 180 degree oven till golden, you may want to take them out at intervals and move them around so they cook evenly.

Hozaaaa cauliflower cheese, snack mode.

Caramelised Cauliflower Bites (yes it works, yes its amazing)

Ingredients
1/2 a cauliflower
1 tbsp of honey or liquid sweeter
pinch of salt

- Pull of the florets of the cauliflower leaving behind the majority of the waxy stems. Cut flores into popcorn size (or smaller) pieces. Place in bowl.

- Add salt then Honey toss till all florets are coated.
- Place on a baking tray and put in a 180 degree oven till golden, like with the cheese bites you may want to take them out at intervals and move them around so they cook evenly.

Golden and purdddyyy

I added raisins to this one, it was a good call

Sweet, salty and smokey roasted Chickpea snack

Sweet, salty and smokey

Snacking has a notorious reputation for being fatty, high calorie and convenient. Even the 'healthy bag of nuts' option are often roasted in salt and fat with added preservatives. But lets face it snacking is not just a pleasure it is essential sometimes; It picks you up in a long active day, keeps you motivated in long periods of study and after work out snack are vital to repair muscles. So what you got to do is snack right!

Personally I think homemade snacks are the best, you know exactly whats in it, you can make large batches and store them making them cheaper and you can adjust the taste to exactly how you like it. Here i have come up with a snack that is a crazy crunchy creation- sweet, salty and smokey roasted chickpeas with apricots.

These have no added oil or sugar and are packed with protein, iron and fiber. The taste is inspired from Moroccan dishes where dried apricots and salty smokey savory flavors are often combined to amazing effect. The chickpeas do not taste like a tagine however but still pretty darn tasty and satisfying.

Sweet, Salty and Smokey Chickpea Snack

Ingerdiants
1/3 cup chickpeas
3 table spoons maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika
1 tsp of reduced sodium salt
1 garlic clove crushed
1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper (1 tsp if you like it hotter)
1/4 tsp cinnamon 
Freshly cracked black pepper
4 dried apricots

-Drain and rinse chickpeas and place in a clean tea towel. Fold the tea towel in half and rub the chickpeas around to losen their outer skins.
- Peal your chickpeas (this takes a while but worth it, trust)

- Lay on a baking tray and put in a 180 degree oven for 5-8 mins. I would advise you line your tray with tin foil as it makes cleaning up much easier, however we didn't seem to think foil was a useful thing to have on the shopping list this week..

- While the chickpeas are in the oven, mix the remain ingredients in the bottom of a medium mixing bowl. Taste, you may like it hotter, more salty, more Cinnamon just make sure its a punchy flavour as it will get milder when cooked.
-Remove the chickpeas from the oven and add to mixing bowl, toss in your sweet, salty, smokey mixture. Then place back on tray and bake till the chickpeas are crunchy, about 10-15 mins (they catch easily keep an eye on them) 
- When crunchy and done place in a clean mixing bowl and leave to cool. While they cool chop up you dried apricots and mix in with you chickpeas. Store in an air tight container once fully cooled ready when you need a good healthy snack. Bravisimo!

 

Time for Tea

The weather was so lovely yesterday and due to my beau and my best friend finishing their last exam a impromptu tea party had to be thrown!

I have two tea sets one, the brown, is from my sister who brought it back from Vietnam. It is carved from coconut shell and is traditionally used for honey tea (a combination of bee's pollen, special honey and green tea). My other tea set is just cool. It's glass and has a glass infuser so you can use and loose leaf or tea ingredients and see it infuse. At this tea party in the glass pot is lemon and ginger with optional honey and in coconut pot is white tea and pomegranate. Just in case you were wondering..

Because of this tea party i thought it would be appropriate for me to tell you a little bit about the benefits of different teas and a few facts about them.

All Teas

• All teas help hydrate and detox as they are liquads filled with differnt anitoxidants and help flush out the bad stuff
• Hot teas help keep you full where as iced teas help boost your metabolism 
• Tea was originally only used as a tonic and for medical uses only

Green Tea

• Made from the same plant as black tea but the leaves aren't allowed to oxiadize by heating on a high heat for a short amount of time, stopping the fermenting reaction
• Lower in caffeine then normal tea and drunk with out milk (often with honey or lemon)
•  Full of antioxidants that benefit your skin and general health
• Can help aid weight loss as it improves the function of the liver, burning fat effectively
• Can help with bad breath and immuntiy as it is a natural anti bacterial drink
• Can help prevent cancer

White Tea

• White tea is very similar to Green tea however it is harvested at a younger age and is less processed then Green tea as it is steamed then dried
• Due the process (or lack of it) white tea has the same as, but more of the antioxidants found in green tea
• White tea has very little caffine
• However white tea is less common and often more pricey

Herbal Teas

• Peppermint tea helps problems with gas and digestion
• Camonmile tea is ment to calm and help with sleeping
• Rooibos tea is rich in vitamin C and other minerals some beleive it helps with skin problems
• Echinacea tea helps boost the immune system

Hope that has added to your tea knowledge! If not there will (hopefully) be more post on tea things such as how to make your own tea and how long and the best way to brew tea.

Keep calm and drink tea.