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!