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.