Tiger Bread

This is a white bread with a distinctive crackly, mottled crust. It is also sometimes called giraffe bread.

 

Ingredients:

1 sachet yeast (or 2 tsp dried yeast reconstituted in warm water)

500 g strong white bread flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

3 tbsp sesame oil

300 ml warm water

 

paste:

125 ml warm water

750 g corn flour or rice flour

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp yeast

½ tsp salt

1 tbsp sesame oil

 

Instructions:

1. Mix the dough ingredients together well. Leave to rise, covered, until doubled, about an hour.

2. Shape into a loaf.

3. Mix the ingredients for the paste together, leave for a little while, then spread on the loaf. Leave to rise again for 30 minutes.

4. Bake at 220 C for 20-30 minutes.

Semolina Porridge

This is a nice alternative to oatmeal for breakfast, although M informs me that in England, it is more like a dessert, especially with jam and possibly whipped cream.

 

I like it for breakfast, served with raspberry jam.

 

Ingredients:

½ cup semolina

1 tsp sugar

2 cups milk (I use rice milk)

jam to serve with, optional

 

Instructions:

1. Mix all the ingredients together and warm up, whisking constantly.

2. After 5 or so minutes, it will have thickened. Serve with jam, if desired.

Happy birthday, M!

Happy birthday to the kindest, smartest, loveliest, most beautiful wife ever! I love you!

Vegan Fruit Crumble

I made this with blueberries, apples, and pears, but any combination of fruit that you prefer should work.

 

Ingredients:

100 g flour

100 g oats

5 tbsp sugar

2 tsp vanilla

3 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp lemon juice

5 tbsp oil (I used rapeseed for its slightly nutty flavour, but sunflower works too), plus a little to grease the dish

600 g fruit (for example, 2-3 apples and 2-3 pears)

oat or soya cream, to serve with it

 

Instructions:

1. Mix the flour, oats, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, lemon juice, and oil together in a bowl.

2. Peel, wash, and slice the fruit as applicable.

3. Lightly grease an oven-safe dish.

4. Layer the fruit in the dish. Top with the crumble mixture.

5. Bake at 190 C for 15-25 minutes. Serve with cream, if desired.

Cheesy Baking Powder Biscuits

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp sea salt

1 tbsp oil

¼ - 1/3 cup milk (I used rice milk)

¼ cup cheese (I used Vegusto vegan cheese)

1 tsp sugar or maple syrup, as desired

 

Instructions:

1. Mix all the ingredients together well.

2. Drop by spoonfuls onto a greased baking tray.

3. Bake at 200 C for 12-15 minutes.

Vegan Vanilla Panna Cotta

I wondered if it were possible to make my old panna cotta recipe vegan for M, and the answer is yes, definitely. It’s too bad there aren’t that many choices for vegan creams. Oatly tastes rather strongly of oats and M can’t have soya products. Still, it’s nice to be able to have old favourite recipes in new vegan form.

 

Ingredients:

1 container Oatly oat cream (or other vegan cream) (250 ml)

3 tbsp sugar

2-3 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp Vegeset

berries to serve with it, optional

 

Instructions:

1. Mix everything together and warm it over low heat until just boiling.

2. Pour into ramekins and refrigerate.

3. Serve with berries.

Vegan Ice Cream

I read this recipe for one-ingredient vegan ice cream and of course I had to try it, although I did adapt it.

Basically, you freeze some bananas, then blend them with any other ingredients you want for a creamy, dairy-free ice cream. Next, I want to try this recipe for avocado dairy-free ice cream.

Ingredients:
2 bananas
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp honey
1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Slice the bananas and freeze them in a Tupperware container for a few hours.
2. Blend the slices with the other ingredients until creamy.
3. Put the mixture back into the Tupperware container and freeze again, until you want to serve it.

Chinese Aubergine

I was looking for a healthier way to make aubergine, since it soaks up oil when you fry it or stir-fry it, and I came up with this idea. It’s perfect over rice. It tastes like one of my favourite Chinese dishes.

 

Ingredients:

1-2 tsp ginger

4-5 garlic cloves

1 vegetable stock cube

water

2 aubergines

lemon juice

sesame oil

spring onions

 

Instructions:

1. Chop the ginger and peel and chop the garlic. Dry fry them lightly with the vegetable stock cube.

2. Add about 1 cup of water.

3. Wash and slice the aubergines and add them to the pot, along with more water, so they are just covered.

4. Cover the pot and steam the aubergine in the flavourful brother until tender. Remove the lid, increase the heat, and boil away most of the liquid.

5. Season with lemon juice, sesame oil, and sliced spring onions.

Plum Clafoutis

You can use many other fruits instead of the plums.

 

Ingredients:

350 ml milk (I used rice milk; you could also use cream, for an even richer dessert)

1 vanilla pod

6-8 plums

3-4 tbsp sugar, depending on how tart the plums are

2 tbsp flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp lemon juice (or use lemon zest if you prefer)

3 eggs

 

Instructions:

1. Gently warm the milk. Halve the vanilla pod, scrape out the beans, and add the beans and the pod to the milk. Continue to cook for about 10 minutes.

2. Wash, halve, and stone the plums. Sprinkle 1-2 tbsp sugar on the bottom of an oven-safe dish, then place the plum halves on top.

3. Bake the plums for 5 minutes at 175 C.

4. Let the milk cool. Mix in the rest of the sugar, the flour, cinnamon, lemon juice, and eggs.

5. Pour the vanilla custard over the plums and bake for 30-45 minutes.

Soft White Rolls

Ingredients:

500 g strong white bread flour (or use a combination of white and wholemeal if you prefer)

7 g fast action yeast

2 tsp salt

2 tbsp honey

3 tbsp sunflower oil (or rapeseed oil)

300 ml warm water

 

Instructions:

1. Blend all the ingredients together and knead or mix in a food processor for about 10 minutes.

2. Leave to rise for an hour.

3. Knead and shape into rolls. Leave to rise another 30-60 minutes.

4. Cut a cross into the rolls if you want. Bake at 200 C for 15-25 minutes.

Chocolate Cherry Bread

A tasty treat that’s perfect with coffee or tea.

 

Ingredients:

2 tsp active dry yeast

1 cup warm water (about 200 ml)

3 cups strong white bread flour (about 400 g)

½ cup cocoa powder

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1-2 tsp cinnamon, optional

1-2 tbsp oil

¼ cup rice milk (or regular milk)

¼-½ cup chocolate pieces

½ cup cherries

 

Instructions:

1. Dissolve the yeast in the water and set aside for about 15 minutes until frothy.

2. Mix the dry ingredients together. Add the yeast and the wet ingredients. Knead well for 5-10 minutes.

3. Add the chocolate pieces. Wash and de-stone the cherries and fold them in.

4. Leave to rise for an hour.

5. Shape into a loaf or small rolls and leave to rise another 30-60 minutes.

6. Bake at 180 C for 20-40 minutes, or until the bottom sounds hollow when tapped.

 

Gooey Vegan Brownies

When I was on leave from work, enjoying a “staycation”, I had a craving for gooey brownies. So this is what I came up with.

 

If you bake this recipe in a fairly small tin, it will puff up like a soufflé. If you bake it in a wider, shallower tin, you’ll end up with brownies.

 

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

¾ cup sugar (more if you like it sweet)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp vanilla

½ cup rice milk (or water or coffee)

½ cup oil (I used rapeseed for a slightly nutty flavour)

¼-½ cup chocolate chips, optional

¼-½ cup nuts, optional

 

Instructions:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together.

2. Mix the wet ingredients together and add to the dry mixture. Blend thoroughly.

3. Add the chocolate chips and/or nuts, if using.

4. Bake at 175 C for 15-25 minutes, depending on whether you prefer them more on the gooey side or more on the cakey side.

Quote

In nothing does man, with his grand notions of heaven and charity, show forth his innate, low-bred, wild animalism more clearly than in his treatment of his brother beasts. From the shepherd with his lambs to the red-handed hunter, it is the same; no recognition of rights -- only murder in one form or another. -John Muir, naturalist, explorer, and writer (1838-1914)

Vegan Chocolate Cake 4

We stayed at a lovely B&B in Pembrokeshire and the wonderful host made a vegan chocolate cake for M, since we had told her that M couldn’t have dairy or soya. It was delicious and we’ve now adapted it and made it at home. It’s wonderful topped with fresh berries.

 

Ingredients:

1¼ cups flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

¾ cup sugar (or more if you like it sweet)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup vegetable oil plus extra to oil the tin

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 cup warm water

 

icing

½ cup icing sugar

2-3 tbsp cocoa powder

2 tsp vanilla

4 tbsp margarine

 

Instructions:

1. Mix all the cake ingredients together until well blended.

2. Oil the cake tin and pour the mixture into it.

3. Bake at 175 C for 20-25 minutes (until a knife comes out clean). Cool for an hour.

4. Mix the icing ingredients together and spread on the cake.

Vegetable Udon Soup

When I had some dental work done, I wasn’t in the mood to have anything too hard to eat. Vegetable soup with udon noodles fit the bill. This can be adapted so you use whatever vegetables you have on hand. You can add miso paste if you want as well. You can also replace the udon noodles with other noodles or even dumplings.

 

Ingredients:

udon noodles

water

1 vegetable stock cube

1-2 carrots

½ cup mushrooms

½ cup sugar snap peas or regular peas

2 spring onions

black pepper, smoked paprika, other spices

 

Instructions:

1. Boil the udon noodles in water (this takes about 10 minutes), then drain and set aside.

2. Boil another 4 or so cups of water and add the vegetable stock cube.

3. Wash the carrots, slice, and add to the stock. Clean and slice the mushrooms, then add them.

4. After 5-10 minutes, wash and add the peas.

5. Cook for another 5-10 minutes.

6. Add the udon noodles and heat for 1-2 minutes.

7. Set out in bowls, then slice the spring onions and add on top.

8. Season as desired.

Berry Sorbet

This is very easy to make. You can replace the berries with just about any fruit you can think of (mango and peach would be great), and you can add spices or nuts as well. I made berry cinnamon sorbet and I think peach almond would taste delicious.

 

Ingredients:

360 ml water

150 g sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

500 g fruit (I used raspberries and strawberries)

spices or nuts as desired

 

Instructions:

1. Boil 160 ml of the water and mix in the sugar and lemon juice. Remove from the heat and stir. Once the sugar has dissolved, set aside to cool.

2. Wash, peel, de-stone, and hull the fruit as needed.

3. Mix the fruit with the remaining 200 ml of water in a food processor. Add the spices, if using.

4. Add the cool sugar water and blend again. Add the nuts, if using, and stir to mix.

5. Place in a Tupperware container and freeze. Stir after an hour, then freeze again. Stir again after another hour. Freeze until set (it takes several hours).

The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions: Book Review

When M and I got married, one of my friend bought us The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions by Celine Steen and Joni Marie Newman. It was a great gift and it’s a lovely, helpful book.

 

Since I’m a vegetarian and M can’t eat soya or dairy products, sometimes it can feel like a struggle to find dishes we can both make. What I like about this book is that it has a number of basic recipes and explanations for useful substitutions (such as for homemade milks other than soya or non-egg mayonnaise) and then many recipes that use those items, so you can see how to do it and get inspiration.

 

The recipes are very tempting, though there are a few items that I haven’t been able to find in my small city in the UK (rice milk powder, for example). I’ve really enjoyed this book and plan to make quite a few of the recipes. I think it would be a great book for any vegan/vegetarian and also for anyone with food allergies.

Sesame Bread

This is a somewhat unusual bread, with tahini in it to add a tang. Decorate it with sesame seeds too, if you like. It has a sweet and slightly bitter taste and it’s great with salad. Ingredients: 5 cups strong white bread flour (about 500 g) 2 tsp yeast 1 tsp salt 2 tbsp honey or sugar or maple syrup 4 tbsp oil (I used rapeseed but I think toasted sesame oil would be good too) 1-2 tbsp tahini (depending on how strong you want the sesame taste) 1 cup warm water (about 225 ml) sesame seeds, optional Instructions: 1. Mix all the dry ingredients together, then add in the honey, oil, tahini, and water. Add the sesame seeds if you want or sprinkle them on top. Mix with a bread hook in a stand mixer or else knead on a floured surface for 10 minutes. 2. Leave to rise in a warm place for about an hour. 3. Knead again and prove a second time. Sprinkle with sesame seeds now, if you prefer. 4. Bake for about 20-25 minutes at 200 C.

Vegan Banana Pancakes

These are so fast and easy to make, and very yummy too. Ingredients: 200 g flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda ½ tsp salt 2 tbsp sugar (or agave or maple syrup) 1 tbsp cinnamon 1 tsp vanilla 2 bananas 220 ml rice milk (soya or almond would be fine too) oil agave or maple syrup Instructions: 1. Mix all the dry ingredients together. 2. Mash the bananas and add them in, then pour in the milk. Blend well. 3. Warm the oil in the pan, then cook a few tablespoonfuls at a time over medium heat, flipping so that both sides get golden. 4. Serve with agave or maple syrup.

Hummus

Maybe it’s the heat, but lately I’ve been feeling like minimal cooking, so I’ve been making lots of spreads. The latest was hummus. Ingredients: 1 tin chickpeas (about 400 g) 2 cloves of garlic (or more, if you prefer) 3-4 tbsp tahini juice from 1 lemon (or 2-3 tbsp lemon juice) 5-6 tbsp olive oil (use more for a looser, smoother spread, or less for a stickier spread) 1-2 tbsp fresh parsley spices (I use cinnamon and smoked sweet paprika, but cumin is also common) salt and pepper to taste Instructions: 1. Drain the chickpeas and rinse well. 2. Blend all the ingredients except the salt and pepper in a food processor. Then season to taste. 3. Serve with vegetables or pita bread.

Olive Tapenade

We were at a reception where olive tapenade was served on little pieces of baguette and a couple of weeks later, I found myself craving it. So this is what we made. It was delicious on crisp rolls or on focaccia. Ingredients: 2 cloves of garlic (more if you like it stronger) 1 tin of black olives (about 1¼ cups) (you can also mix in green olives) 1-2 tbsp lemon juice 2-3 tbsp olive oil sea salt and black pepper to taste Instructions: 1. Mix all the ingredients together in a food processor until the tapenade is your desired consistency (I like it pretty smooth, with some chunks). 2. Season, then serve.

Vegan Snack Recipes

A relative sent me this link, which features vegan snack recipes. Yum!

Apple and Vegetable Pie

I’d read a recipe that suggested making a mash out of apples instead of potatoes to use as a crust for a vegetable pie. M thought that sounded interesting but long-winded, so we decided to make a vegetable pie that included apples instead.

We used our typical vegan shortcrust pastry to make a nice pastry bottom and lid for the pie.

Ingredients:

200 g flour

110 g Cookeen (or margarine or butter)

1 tsp salt

2-4 tbsp cold water

1 onion

olive oil, plus a little extra to grease the pan

2 Bramley apples

1 parsnip

1 carrot

1 baking potato

1 stock cube

100-200 ml water

1 tbsp tomato puree

herbs (rosemary, mint, parsley, for example)

Instructions:

1. Make the pastry by mixing the flour, fat, salt, and cold water together. Set in the fridge while you make the rest.

2. Peel and dice the onion. Fry it lightly in olive oil.

3. Peel and dice the parsnip, carrot, and potato. Add them and the stock cube to the pot and cook for a few minutes.

4. Add the water, cover, and let cook for 10-15 minutes.

5. Uncover and let the water cook away (this takes another 10 minutes).

6. Mix in the tomato puree and herbs.

7. Roll out the pastry and put it in a lightly greased oven-safe dish. Fill with the vegetables and fold the pastry over it, so there is a lid. Crimp the edges.

8. Cook at 200 C for 20-30 minutes.

400th Post

In the few years I’ve been keeping this blog, I’ve posted 400 times, amounting to around 76,000 words. Most of those posts have been recipes, so I’m impressed that I’ve made so many different dishes in just about three years (plus there were many I didn’t post, obviously). I’m also really grateful to my beloved wife, M, for being my taste-tester through all these posts!

Thanks for reading, too!

Welsh Cakes

I used to live in Wales and going to the market to buy warm Welsh cakes was a treat. I’ve since learned that they probably use lard, so I won’t be going back any time soon, but I can make them at home myself.

You can serve them with jam or honey, if you prefer.

Ingredients:

110 g flour

40 g sugar, plus extra for sprinkling (or use icing sugar to sprinkle)

½-1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp cinnamon (or mixed spice)

50 g butter or margarine, plus extra for frying

35 g raisins or sultanas

1 egg

1 dash milk, if needed

Instructions:

1. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon together.

2. Cube the butter or margarine and add it, mixing with your hands until well blended (or put it in a food processor).

3. Add the raisins and egg.

4. Roll out the dough and cut into rounds.

5. Heat the extra butter or margarine in a heavy pan and cook the cakes for 2-4 minutes on each side.

6. Sprinkle with sugar and serve.

Weekend

Why are films featuring gay men often better than those featuring gay women? That’s something I’ve wondered as I’ve seen bad lesbian film after bad lesbian film. If it’s got a teacher-student plot, it’s probably a (bad) lesbian movie. If one character abuses her position of power to seduce the other, it’s probably a (bad) lesbian movie.

I was thus excited by Weekend. It’s about a guy called Russ who has a one-night stand that turns into something more. I loved how the film was intense and sweet, and it really portrayed that early-relationship awkwardness. I also liked that the film was romantic but not overly so, and it didn’t have the expected ending.

The one thing that I didn’t like was the sheer amount of drugs and alcohol in the film. Maybe it’s realistic to the gay scene and the twenty-something age group, but I felt that the two men could have had the same experiences with just a bit less alcohol and cocaine running through them.

I wish there’d be more lesbian films like this, with strong, believable, likeable characters, and an interesting storyline. Until then, I’m going to have to keep watching films like Weekend, and I’ll keep an eye out for its director, Andrew Haigh, and leading actors, Tom Cullen and Chris New.

Delicious White Bread

This was definitely the best white bread I’ve made, so now I keep making it. M prefers white bread to wholemeal (I’m the opposite) so I make it often.

Ingredients:

450 g strong white flour

2 tsp yeast

1 tsp salt

1-2 tbsp honey or maple syrup

2 tbsp oil

300 ml warm water

Instructions:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together, then add in the honey, oil, and water. Mix with a bread hook in a stand mixer or else knead on a floured surface. We mixed it in the mixer and then M kneaded it too.

2. Leave to rise in a warm place for about an hour.

3. Knead again and either prove a second time or bake.

4. Bake for about 20-25 minutes at 200 C.

On Travel

I really like to travel, even just short weekend trips around the UK. I always email B&Bs in advance to say that I’m a vegetarian and that M can’t eat dairy or soya and to make sure that that’s not a problem.

Many places are accommodating, asking what they can have on hand instead and so on. But some places behave really oddly, saying they can’t help or telling us to bring our own items. I’m not sure how hard it really is for B&B-owners to go buy a carton of rice milk, but the attitude of not being willing to even try really puts me off. One B&B emailed me, in response to my inquiry, “It’s £85 per night. Bring your own drinks/spreads.” For £85 a night, I think you can buy some oat milk, no?

One place said it would be fine to accommodate the vegetarian diet but when we got there, all they had was an English breakfast for me, minus the bacon and sausage. In other words, they hadn’t even attempted to get vegetarian sausages or a potato croquette or anything. There was just a lack of thought (then again, this place also didn’t seem to see the point in putting toilet paper in the bathroom, so their carelessness was endemic).

Vegetarianism is so common today, as is having food allergies/intolerances, so I don’t have a lot of sympathy for people in the hotel trade who act as though I’m putting them out. I always give them advance notice and, frankly, for the cost of a room at a nice B&B, I think they should try to please the customer.

Bloomington

God, yet another film with a predatory lesbian teacher who seduces a student. I don’t understand why people keep making these films. Is it is because lesbians are seen as predatory? Is there really a plethora of women who were seduced by their teachers/bosses/other people in a role of power? Is this kind of story what appeals  to (male) viewers?

Also, why is it that so many lesbians were “created” because of absent parents or bad relationships with their parents? That’s another part of this film.

There isn’t a lot I can say about this film other than that the script was ridiculous and the acting was nothing special. I’m really sick of these stories and really would love to see a lesbian filmmaker make something unusual and interesting.

Spring Risotto

Risotto is actually very quick and easy to make, though people often think it is a lot of bother. Though it traditionally has cheese in it (usually parmesan), I make it vegan now for M, and it is still delicious.

I call this spring risotto because of the bright green veg I use.

Ingredients:

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

olive oil

1 tsp sugar

1 vegetable stock cube

150 g arborio rice

500 ml water

150 g vegetables (I used a combination of peas, asparagus, and dwarf beans)

1-3 tsp mint

Instructions:

1. Chop the onion and garlic and fry in oil in a big pot. Add the sugar after a few moments.

2. Add the stock cube and break it up. Add the rice and stir, so it gets coated by the oil and onion and garlic. After a couple of minutes, add some of the water and cover the pot. Let it cook for 10 or so minutes, adding more water as necessary, stirring occasionally.

3. Add any frozen vegetables you are using (such as peas or broad beans) and some more water and cook for another 5-10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, wash and chop the fresh vegetables. Add them, the mint, and some more water and cook for another 5-10 minutes.

5. Top with a dash of olive oil and serve.

Vegan Almond Cookies

I had a craving for cookies late one evening, so I cruised the internet for some vegan recipes. A little tweaking and I came up with this. It was so good I ate a lot of the dough before baking it.

 

It was so good we made it twice in one week and discovered that it is fantastic with some chocolate chips or pine nuts mixed in too.

 

Ingredients:

¾ cup coconut oil or sunflower oil

1 cup ground almonds (or another nut, if preferred)

2 1/3 cups flour

½ - ¾ cup sugar, depending on desired sweetness

1 tbsp vanilla

¼ cup water

¼ cup or about 50 g pine nuts or chopped hazelnuts or chopped chocolate, optional

icing sugar

 

Instructions:

1. If using coconut oil, melt it.

2. Mix the coconut oil with all the other ingredients, except the icing sugar.

3. Roll the dough into flat rounds.

4. Bake at 175 C for 15-18 minutes.

5. Sprinkle with icing sugar.

Chickpeas, Corn, and Spinach in a Coconut Sauce

This can be varied easily, depending on what legumes or vegetables you have at home. Have it over rice or with potatoes or sweet potatoes.

 

Ingredients:

oil

2 cloves garlic

2 tsp ginger

1 tsp cilantro

1 tin chickpeas

1 tin coconut milk

1 tin corn

400 g spinach

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp cinnamon

dried chilli peppers, to taste

 

Instructions:

1. Warm the oil in a sauce pan. Chop the garlic, ginger, and cilantro and add to the oil.

2. Rinse and drain the chickpeas and cook them in the garlic mixture for 2-5 minutes, stirring now and then.

3. Add the coconut milk and the other vegetables and cook for 5-10 minutes, until the spinach is wilted and everything is thoroughly warm.

4. Season with lemon juice, cinnamon, and chilli peppers.

Asparagus Soup

You can also use cream (or a vegan cream, like soya or oat) for a richer flavour. I served this with the bread I posted in the last recipe.

 

This was one of my best soup recipes ever, I thought.

 

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp maple syrup or sugar

1 vegetable stock cube

500 g asparagus

1-2 cups water (about 300-500 ml)

½ cup milk (I used rice milk)

 

Instructions:

1. Warm the oil in a pot.

2. Peel and chop the onion and garlic and add it to the oil. After a few minutes, add the maple syrup or sugar and caramelise for a couple of moments, then add in the stock cube.

3. Wash and chop the asparagus. Add it to the pot, then stir it, so the pieces are covered with onions.

4. Boil the water and add about 1 cup to the pot. Cook the asparagus for about 5-10 minutes.

5. Fish out the asparagus heads and put them in a separate bowl. Using a hand mixer, blend the soup until smooth. Add more water and the milk until it is your desired consistency.

6. Set it out in bowls and top with the asparagus heads.

Another Nice Brown Loaf

I make the same few breads a lot (focaccia, baking powder biscuits, white bread), so I wanted to vary it. This is what I created.

 

It can also be made into individual rolls.

 

Ingredients:

450 g strong bread flour (I used 270 g white and the rest wholemeal)

7 g dried yeast

1 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar or honey

2 tbsp olive oil

2 eggs (only one if not using seeds or oats)

250 – 300 ml liquid (I used 200 ml rice milk and 50 ml water)

seeds or oats, if desired

 

Instructions:

1. Mix the flour, yeast, salt, sugar, and olive oil together.

2. Blend in one egg and slowly add the liquid, a bit at a time. Knead for 10 minutes or mix in a food processor for 5 minutes.

3. Set in a lightly oiled bowl and leave to rise for an hour or so, until doubled in size.

4. Shape into a loaf or rolls and leave to rise another 30-60 minutes.

5. Brush with the second egg and sprinkle with seeds or oats. You can skip this skip, if you want.

6. Bake at 180 C for 15-25 minutes.

Vegan Chocolate Cake 3

This one is lovely topped with chocolate ganache.

 

Ingredients:

50 g (about 3 tbsp or ¼ cup) coconut oil, plus a little extra to grease the dish

150 g flour

20 g ground almonds (or another 15 g flour, if you prefer)

45 g cocoa

175 g sugar (I use a combination of dark brown and white, to add a bit more depth of flavour)

½ tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp vanilla

235 ml (1 cup) coffee, water, or milk

30 ml (1/8 cup) maple syrup

 

Instructions:

1. Melt the coconut oil.

2. Sift all the dry ingredients together.

3. Mix in all the other ingredients.

4. Lightly grease a cake tin and bake for 15-25 minutes at 180 C.

Ciabatta

This sounds fiddly, because you have to start it the day before, but it’s still quite easy, and has a lovely sour taste.

 

Starter ingredients:

½ tsp yeast

8 tbsp warm water

150 g strong white bread flour

 

Dough ingredients:

275 g strong white bread flour

½ tsp yeast

2 tsp salt

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp milk (I used rice milk)

150 ml warm water

 

Instructions:

1. Mix the yeast with 2 tbsp of warm water, then leave for a few minutes. Add the rest of the water and the flour and mix, then leave for 12-36 hours (depending on how sour you like it).

2. Mix the dough ingredients together. Mix in the starter. Knead or mix in a machine for about 5 minutes.

3. Transfer to a lightly oiled mixing bowl and leave to rise for 1-2 hours.

4. Divide the dough into two halves and shape into loaves. Set on a baking tray on top of baking paper and leave to rise another 1-2 hours.

5. Dimple and dust with flour, if desired.

6. Bake at 220 C for 20 minutes.

Baking Powder Biscuits

I’ve posted a similar recipe before, but here I’ve improved on it and made it vegan.

 

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp sea salt

1 tbsp oil

¼ - 1/3 cup milk (I used rice milk)

1 tsp sugar or maple syrup, as desired

 

Instructions:

1. Mix all the ingredients together well.

2. Drop by spoonfuls onto a greased baking tray.

3. Bake at 200 C for 12-15 minutes.

Petits Pain

My sweetheart likes white bread, so I try to make different types, varying them as I can. I found a recipe for French petits pain and adapted it to our tastes. This recipe makes 8-10 rolls, but it’s easily doubled, or you can make one large loaf.

 

You can also add herbs or seeds. And you can glaze it with an egg wash if you want a glossier finish.

 

Ingredients:

1 tsp dried yeast

175 ml warm water

1 tbsp sugar or honey

250 g strong white bread flour

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp salt

 

Instructions:

1. Mix the yeast, water, and sugar together and set aside for 10-15 minutes.

2. Add in the other ingredients and knead or mix for 5-10 minutes. Leave in an oiled bowl to rise for an hour or so.

3. Shape into rolls or a loaf and leave to rise for another 30 minutes.

4. Bake at 180 C for 15-20 minutes.

Bulgur Salad

This salad is easily varied according to what vegetables you have on hand. It would be good with carrots, celery, or watercress/other greens, and can be topped with pumpkin or sunflower seeds and/or fresh herbs.

 

Ingredients:

100 g bulgur (or another grain, such as buckwheat)

water

1 fennel

5-7 cherry tomatoes or 2 plum tomatoes

approximately 10 black olives

1 tin sweet corn

1 garlic clove

1-2 tsp mustard

3 tbsp olive oil

1-2 tsp maple syrup or honey

 

Instructions:

1. Cook the bulgur in the water according to directions. Then set it to cool.

2. Wash and dice the fennel and tomatoes. Chop the tomatoes and the olives. Mix all the vegetables with the bulgur.

3. Mince the garlic clove and mix it with the mustard, oil, and maple syrup. Mix the dressing in with the salad.

Vegan Brownies

Ingredients:

180-200 ml coconut oil (about 10 tbsp)

250 ml coffee or water

250 g flour

150-200 g sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)

65 g cocoa

1 tsp salt

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp vanilla

50-100 g chocolate, optional

50-100 g nuts, optional

 

Instructions:

1. Melt the coconut oil. Make the coffee or heat the water.

2. Mix the flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, and vanilla together.

3. Mix in the liquids.

4. Grate or chop the chocolate, if using, and add it and the nuts, if using, to the mixture.

5. Smooth into a greased pan and bake for 15-25 minutes at 180 C, until it is your preferred level of moisture (some people like cakey brownies, some prefer moist; I’m in the latter camp).

Here Come the Girls

We had heard that the short films that comprise Here Come the Girls were good, so we eagerly anticipated some viewing pleasure on a Friday night. Alas, we were stunned by how relentlessly negative and trading in stereotypes these films were, so I definitely wouldn’t recommend them.

 The first of the films had acting so bad that we almost turned off the DVD. We persevered and the second film, Private Life, which is set in 1950s Yorkshire, was the star of the series. The production values were higher here and the story was more interesting. Also, it had a happy ending.

The other films were mostly desperately unhappy (a mother trying to force her lesbian daughter to be feminine; a young lesbian killed by a falling horseshoe (see the significance of that “lucky” object); an older, sick lesbian hampered with a mentally ill or perhaps demented partner; domestic violence, where a femme woman didn’t want to go to the police about her supposedly “butch” girlfriend), or they were based on stereotypes so old-fashioned as to be embarrassing (a butch narrator talking about how she’s “stone” and wants to treat her “femme” woman right; a femme wanting to use a dildo on her unwilling partner, who thinks butches don’t do that kind of thing).

Happy Birthday, which was the strap-on film just mentioned, was so ridiculous that I could only hope it was tongue-in-cheek. If it was serious, then I feel sad that so many young lesbians apparently still think they have to be either butch or femme and that there are such clear-cut roles.

In short, so to speak, I felt that I wasted an evening on these films. I hope someone will starting making some more challenging, positive, up-to-date LGBTQ films.

Quotes on Vegetarianism

“Pleasure from pain is uniquely human. No other animal willingly easts such foods when there are alternatives. Philosophers have often looked for the defining feature of humans—language, rationality, culture, and so on. I’d stick with this: Man is the only animal that likes Tabasco sauce.”

Paul Bloom in How Pleasure Works.

My Friend From Faro

This is a German film about a twenty-something lesbian stuck in a small town, working in a factory, unable to be her true self. I didn’t quite get how Mel’s family was so blind to who she really was, nor how Jenny, the girl she had a relationship with, didn’t see past what Mel told her. Still, Mel was a strong character and the actor who played her did a good job at portraying what she was going through.

 M wasn’t so keen on this film, but I thought it was rather sweet. There was the expected revelation and related bullying/violence and it wasn’t a surprising or new story in any way, but it was nice to see that things ended up fairly okay for Mel despite everything. As M pointed out, it’s tiring to see LGBTQ films that have the typical problems in them, and this one wasn’t an exception, but it did end on a positive note for Mel.

 

Improved Focaccia

I’ve been playing around with my focaccia recipe and I’ve come up with an even better one than I’ve posted before. This one really gets the texture right.

 

Ingredients:

450 g strong white bread flour

1 sachet yeast (7 g)

2 tsp salt

5 tbsp olive oil, plus extra

about 350 ml lukewarm water

rosemary or other herbs, as desired

olives or sundried tomatoes, as desired

sea salt

 

Instructions:

1. Mix the flour, yeast, salt, oil, and water together well. Either knead on a lightly oiled surface or mix in a stand mixer for 5-10 minutes. Leave to rise somewhere warm for about an hour.

2. Knead again and leave to rise another 30 or so minutes.

3. Chop the herbs, olives, tomatoes, or other ingredients.

4. Roll or press out the bread into the desired shape, top with the herbs, olives, tomatoes, or other ingredients, sprinkle with sea salt, and pour more olive oil on top.

5. Bake at 220 C for about 20 minutes.

Egg Foo Young

This is a traditional Chinese-American dish, so I grew up eating. It comes with a thick, brown sauce, almost like gravy. I got a taste for it suddenly when my mother mentioned having shrimp egg foo young for lunch, so I made a vegetarian version.

 

This recipe made 8 patties, and eating even 2 is very filling.

 

Ingredients:

2- 2½  cups vegetables (I used 1 cup cabbage, 1 celery stalk, 2 spring onions, ½ cup bean sprouts, and mushrooms)

oil

7 eggs

1¼ cup water

1 tbsp corn starch (or flour)

½ bouillon cube

1 tbsp soy sauce (I left this out as M can’t eat soy, but if you add it, it will be more “traditional” and murkier)

1 tsp ginger, optional (I used this to brighten up the flavour)

1 pinch lime leaves, optional (I used this to brighten up the flavour)

 

Instructions:

1. Wash and chop the vegetables. If using vegetables such as cabbage and onion, fry them lightly in oil for a few moments.

2. Whisk the eggs and add all the vegetables. Distribute the vegetables evenly.

3. Fry patties a couple at a time in a little oil.

4. Start the sauce by first making a smooth paste with ¼ cup water and the corn starch or flour.

5. When it’s completely smooth, add the rest of the water, the bouillon, and the soy sauce. If using the ginger and lime leaves, add them too. Cook over low heat, whisking frequently, for a few minutes, until it thickens.

6. Serve the patties with the sauce over them.