Vegan Carrot Cake

I love carrot cake, so I was eager to make it on a recent spring afternoon. There was a wonderful smell coming from the oven as M made her way home.

 

I have also tried grating in one or two stalks of rhubarb and adding ¼  cup rhubarb curd for some extra flavour.

 

Ingredients:

2½ cups carrot (about 2 big carrots)

2 cups flour

¼ cup ground almonds (you can leave this out if you want)

1 cup sugar

¼ cup brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

3 tsp cinnamon

¾ cup sunflower oil, plus extra for the pan

¼ cup rice milk (or other milk)

1 tsp lemon juice

½ cup raisins

½ cup flaked almonds (or, yes, if you prefer another nut, use that, but M is allergic)

 

Instructions:

1. Grate the carrots.

2. Mix all the dry ingredients together. Stir in the oil, milk, and lemon juice and mix well.

3. Stir in the carrots, raisins, and almonds.

4. Lightly oil an oven-safe baking dish and then pour in the batter.

5. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 180 C.

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.

Dairy-Free Rice Pudding

Since my sweetie can’t have dairy but wanted rice pudding, I tried to think of a way of making a nice dairy-free pudding for her. You need very little sugar since the coconut milk is quite rich and sweet on its own.

Rice Pudding

Ingredients:

oil to grease the dish

½ cup pudding rice

2½ tins of coconut milk (save the other ½ tin for something else)

4 tsp cinnamon, or more to taste

1 tsp nutmeg, or more to taste

2 tsp vanilla, or more to taste

2 tbsp coconut palm sugar (or regular sugar), or to taste

½ cup raisins, or more to taste (I soak them in boiling water first, to plump them up)

Instructions:

1. Grease an oven-safe dish and put the pudding rice, 1½ tins coconut milk, and 2 tsp cinnamon in it.

2. Bake at 150 C for 40 minutes

3. Stir, then grate in the nutmeg. Add another ½ tin of coconut milk and the vanilla. Bake for another 20 minutes.

4. Stir again, then add the rest of the coconut milk and cinnamon, and the raisins.

5. Bake for another 20 minutes, then serve.

Vermicelli Dessert

This is like rice pudding, but with noodles instead of rice, and not baked.

Ingredients:

½ cup – 1 cup milk (I used rice milk)

1-2 tbsp sugar (I used coconut palm sugar)

1 tsp cinnamon

50 g raisins

50 g almonds

75 g vermicelli noodles

Instructions:

1. Warm the milk with the sugar and cinnamon in a saucepan for about 5-10 minutes, until the milk reduces somewhat.

2. Add the raisins and almonds and cook for another 5-10 minutes.

3. Add the noodles and cook for 5 minutes.

4. Pour into bowls and serve.

Stuffed Squash

I was able to stop at a gourmet grocery store after a lecture one day and I was happy to see that they had a  nice selection of squash. I got an acorn squash and a kabocha squash. That evening, I baked the acorn squash, and stuffed it with couscous and raisins. A simple, lightly sweet evening meal. M had hers as described below, but I added some chilli peppers to mine for an extra depth of flavour.

Ingredients:
1 squash
oil
1 onion
1-2 tsp honey
couscous (about 50 g per person)
water
1 handful raisins
1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions:
1. Wash the squash and rub it lightly with oil. Wrap it in aluminium foil and roast it at 200 C for about 30 minutes.
2. Dice the onion and fry it in the oil and honey.
3. Halve the squash and remove the seeds. Put it back in the oven for a few more minutes.
4. Add the couscous to the onion.
5. Boil the water and pour it over the couscous.
6. Add the raisins and cinnamon to the couscous. Cover the couscous and set it aside for about 10 minutes.
7. Stuff the squash halves with couscous and serve.

Oatmeal and Raisin Pancakes

M likes porridge, but I like to make pancakes, so this is a perfect compromise dish.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp vegetable oil
¾ cup oatmeal
¾ cup spelt flour (or plain flour)
1½ cups soya or rice milk
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
water
¾ cup raisins
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp sugar
1 egg (or 2 egg whites)
oil
banana to serve with
honey or agave to serve with

Instructions:
1. Mix the oil, oatmeal, flour, soy milk, baking powder, and baking soda together.
2. Boil the water. Put the raisins in a bowl and pour the water over them.
3. Add it, the cinnamon, vanilla, and sugar to the oatmeal mixture.
4. Lightly beat the egg. Mix it into the mixture. Stir until just blended. Drain the raisins and add them.
5. Fry spoonfuls of the mixture in oil until golden on both sides. Serve with slices of banana and honey or agave.

Pain Aux Raisins

Raisin croissants, hot, buttery, sweet. This is one of M’s favourites and when our local Sainsbury’s stopped selling theirs, I vowed to learn to make this dish for my beloved. It took me awhile to work up the nerve, because it seemed rather complicated, but one day this autumn, I did. M helped me with the rolling out, because as usual she is my sous chef. The dough is rather sticky, which surprised me, but it all turned out delicious and beautiful nonetheless.

Ingredients:
water
1¼ cups raisins
1 package dried yeast (7 grams or 4 tsp)
½ cup lukewarm milk or water
3½ cups strong white bread flour
1 tsp salt
½ cup milk (soy adds a slight nuttiness of flavour)
¼-1/3 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
250 g butter (divided up into 110 g, 110 g, and 30 g)
frangipane (see previous post)
1 egg
1 tbsp milk (again, soy is fine)

Instructions:
1. Boil the water and put the raisins in there to soak.
2. Mix the yeast and lukewarm milk or water together in a large mixer.
3. Add the flour, salt, milk, sugar, and 30 g of butter. Mix well with the bread hook.
4. Shape the dough into a ball and cover it loosely. Set aside for 30 or so minutes.
5. Roll the dough out into a long, thin rectangle. Let it rise in a warm place (an oven that had been warmed up and now is turned off, for example) for about an hour.
6. Cut bits of 110 g of butter and place it along the rectangle. Fold the rectangle up in thirds (i.e. bring in one long side to the middle, then the other). Roll out the dough again, letting the butter get mashed into it. Roll it into a rectangle and leave it to rest for another 30 or 40 minutes.
7. Do the same as step 6 with the last 110 g of butter. Fold the dough up, roll it out, leave it to rest.
8. Roll the dough out and spread it with the frangipane. Then drain the raisins and distribute them on the frangipane.
9. Roll the dough up into a log, starting from one long side. Then slice through the log. Depending on how large you make the rolls, you could get 10-20 out of the log.
10. Set the raisin rolls out on baking trays and leave them to rise one last time in a warm place for another 30 or so minutes.
11. Whisk the egg and milk together and brush the rolls with the mixture.
12. Bake the pain aux raisins for 12-15 minutes at 180 C, until golden.

Flapjacks

Flapjacks in the US refer to pancakes, but in the UK, they’re a sort of biscuit or bar made from oats and honey or golden syrup (I dislike golden syrup so I use honey).

Ingredients:
175 g butter
175 g honey (1/2 cup)
¾ cup sugar
spices, as desired (I used a bit of cinnamon and ginger, and also a splash of lemon juice, though that’s not technically a spice)
350 g oats (4 cups)
½ cup raisins, optional (I soaked them in boiling water first to plump them up)

Instructions:
1. Melt the butter and add the honey and sugar. Warm until the sugar dissolves. Mix in spices, if you are using them.
2. Mix in the oats and raisins.
3. Grease an oven-proof dish and put the oat mixture in it.
4. Bake at 180 C for about 15-20 minutes, then slice into squares.

Morning Glory Muffins

Don’t snicker at the name – these are common muffins in the US, where “morning glory” has a much more innocent meaning (it’s a flower and not something men get in the morning).

These are pretty healthy and really tasty. You can also add nuts or coconut.

Ingredients:
1 apple
3-5 carrots (about 2 cups worth)
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup raisins
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 pinch salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs

Instructions:
1. Peel, core and grate the apple and peel and grate the carrots.
2. Add the oil and raisins to the apple and carrots.
3. Mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, vanilla and cinnamon together.
4. Beat the eggs and mix them with the dry ingredients.
5. Mix the eggs with the apple and carrots. Mix everything together well.
6. Put in muffin tins and bake for 18-20 minutes at 170 C.

Rice Pudding

M likes rice pudding but I’m not so keen (perhaps this is because I’m not English and didn’t grow up with it). Still, I aim to please, so this is the dish I came up with.

Ingredients:
butter or oil to grease the dish, plus 1 tbsp butter if desired
½ cup pudding rice
4 cups milk (rice or soya milk work fine)
½ cup sugar, or more to taste
4 tsp cinnamon, or more to taste
1 tsp nutmeg, or more to taste
2 tsp vanilla, or more to taste
½ cup raisins, or more to taste

Instructions:
1. Grease an oven-safe dish and put the pudding rice, 2½ cups milk, ¼ cup sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon in it.
2. Bake at 150 C for 40 minutes
3. Stir, then grate in the nutmeg. Add another 1 cup of milk and the vanilla. Bake for another 20 minutes.
4. Stir again, then add the rest of the milk and cinnamon, and the raisins. Also add the 1 tbsp butter if you want a more buttery taste.
5. Bake for another 20 minutes, then serve.

Oatmeal Cookies with Raisins and Pumpkin Seeds

Healthy and delicious! When you use brown sugar, they get a more caramel-like flavour, but you can use all regular sugar if you prefer.

Ingredients:
water
½ cup raisins
¾ cup vegetable oil (or you can use butter)
1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup cocoa
3 cups oats
1 cup flour
½ tsp baking soda
1 pinch salt
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup pumpkin seeds

Instructions:
1. Boil the water and put the raisins in it, so they plump up.
2. Mix the oil, sugars, cocoa, oats, flour, baking soda, and salt together.
3. Whisk the egg with the vanilla extract and add it to the mixture.
4. Add the raisins and some of their liquid (about ¼ to 1/3 cup, but you have to judge how moist the batter is).
5. Add the pumpkin seeds. Mix everything together.
6 . Drop by spoonfuls on a baking tray.
7. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 180 C.

Squash Couscous

This was a simple weeknight meal that was healthy and full of flavour. The tomatoes might seem a bit odd, but I had tomatoes to use, so I added them. It worked fine, but you can leave them out too.

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash
oil
1 courgette
1 tsp sugar
2 tomatoes
200 g couscous
water
¼ cup raisins
handful of pine nuts (about 30 g)
2 tbsp crème fraiche or yogurt, optional
salt
black pepper

Instructions:
1. Wash the butternut squash and coat it lightly with oil. Roast it in the oven at 200 C for about an hour, until the skin has browned. Leave aside to cool.
2. Wash and dice the courgette. Fry it in oil over low heat for about 8-10 minutes. Add the sugar so it caramelises.
3. Meanwhile, peel and de-seed the squash. Dice it into small pieces and add to the pan.
4. Wash and slice the tomatoes and add them as well. Continue to stir-fry.
5. Put the couscous in a pot. Boil the water and add it to the couscous. Leave it to stand, covered, for about 5 minutes.
6. Add the raisins and pine nuts to the squash.
7. For a more creamy couscous, add the crème fraiche or yogurt to pot and mix in well.
8. Season the squash with salt and black pepper to taste.
9. Serve the squash over the couscous.

Courgette Muffins

These taste quite healthy and are great for breakfast or as a snack with a cup of coffee or tea. To make them slightly less healthy, use all plain flour (no spelt) and up the amount of sugar a bit.

Ingredients:
1 medium courgette
2½ cups flour (I used 1 cup spelt and 1½ cups plain flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¼ cup cocoa powder
¾ cup sugar
1 dash salt
1 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp lemon juice
¼ cup raisins

Instructions:
1. Grate the courgette and then squeeze it out or leave it to drip for 10-15 minutes.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa, sugar, and salt together.
3. Blend in the eggs, oil, vanilla, and lemon juice.
4. Add the grated courgette and the raisins. Mix well.
5. Place about 2-3 tbsp batter into muffin cases.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 175 C.

Gluten-Free Oatmeal Pancakes

Since we’ve been on a gluten-free kick lately (which does seem to have had a positive effect on my seemingly irritated skin), I’ve been trying to re-make some of my old recipes without the gluten. I like to make pancakes on the weekend; something about the act of putting batter together and frying up a stack of hot cakes signals a lazy weekend to me (never mind the fact that after eating the pancakes, I immediately head to work!).

Ingredients:
3 tbsp butter
¾ cup oatmeal
1½ cups yogurt
¾ cup gluten-free flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 cardamom pods (or ½ tsp ground cardamom)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp sugar
1/3 cup raisins
1 egg (or 2 egg whites)
oil

Instructions:
1. Melt the butter.
2. Mix the oatmeal, yogurt, spelt flour, baking powder, and baking soda together.
3. Crush the cardamom in a mortar and pestle and add it, the cinnamon, vanilla, sugar, and raisins, to the oatmeal mixture.
4. Lightly beat the egg. Mix it and the melted butter into the mixture. Stir until just blended.
5. Fry spoonfuls of the mixture in oil until golden on both sides.

Rice with Butternut Squash, Cashews, Raisins, and Pomegranate

This has a Middle Eastern flavour and is healthy and gluten-free. I loved the combination of spices and how they suited the vegetables.

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash
oil
rice (50 g per person; use brown basmati for a slightly more nutty flavour)
water
2 onions
1 tsp sugar
1 handful raisins
about 50 g cashews (or a handful)
2 cardamom pods
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mint
seeds from 1 pomegranate

Instructions:
1. Rub the squash in oil and roast it in the oven for about 50 minutes at 180 C. When it has cooled, peel it and dice it.
2. Boil the rice in the water. This will take 25-35 minutes.
3. Dice the onions and fry them lightly in some oil. Add the sugar so they caramelise.
4. Cover the raisins with boiling water and set aside for 20 minutes, until they plump up.
5. Crush the cashews and the cardamom pods in a mortar and pestle.
6. Add the squash to the onions and fry for a few more minutes, then add in the cashews, cardamom, cinnamon, and mint.
7. When the rice is ready, add it to the frying pan. Mix everything well.
8. Serve the rice topped with pomegranate seeds.

Scones

Scones seem so quintessentially English; served warm with jam and clotted cream, alongside a steaming cup of tea, they’re wonderful. I used to think they must be complicated to make and that they were best left to charming cafés in English seaside villages. Actually, they aren’t that hard at all. Adding some cream to the recipe (it’s up to you whether you want to use double or single; both work, but obviously the double cream is richer and therefore more fattening) makes it taste better in my opinion; some people use an egg instead so the scones last longer. Personally, I think that if the scones taste the way they should, they will be eaten quickly and thus don’t need to last longer.

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
2 tbsp sugar
½ tbsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
3 tbsp butter
½ cup cream
¼ cup raisins or currants
jam
clotted cream or butter

Instructions:
1. Sift the dry ingredients together. Mix in the butter and blend.
2. Add the cream and mix until it is a fairly smooth but sticky batter.
3. Add in the raisins or currants. Knead and shape into a flat loaf.
4. Cut into 6 pieces, but do not separate.
5. Bake for about 13 minutes at 200 C.
6. Serve with jam and clotted cream or butter.

Oatmeal or Porridge

A wonderfully healthy and comforting dish is oatmeal (or porridge, as M calls it). It’s so simple to make and it’s great at any time of the day. I like how you feel good about yourself when you eat a bowl of oatmeal while at the same time you get the sneaky feeling that health food shouldn’t taste so good.

It’s also easy to vary it depending on your tastes. You can add raisins, currants, prunes, apricots, or other dried fruit or even slices of fresh apples or bananas or a bit of jam or some apple sauce. You can add nuts or a few tablespoons of peanut butter. You can spice it with cinnamon or cloves or ginger or any other spice (some people like a savoury version with salt and pepper). You can cook it with milk, soy milk, cream, water, or any combination thereof, and you can add extra liquid when you serve it. You can sweeten it with honey, white sugar, brown sugar, or agave. And so on. Once you have the basic recipe down, it’s up to you how you play with it. I think one cup of oatmeal to three cups of liquid is just right for a creamy porridge and do stir it often as it simmers on the stove.

Ingredients:
1 cup oatmeal
3 cups milk (or a combination of milk and water)
1 cup raisins
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
milk or cream, to serve with as needed
honey or agave, to serve with as needed

Instructions:
1. Simmer the oatmeal, milk, raisins, sugar, and cinnamon over low heat, stirring frequently, for about 5-7 minutes.
2. Serve with milk or cream and honey or agave, to taste.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

As I posted a couple of days ago, I baked two types of cookies for my students. One kind was coconut macaroons and the other type was oatmeal raisin cookies. This recipe can be varied. I often add half a cup of nuts and/or chocolate chunks and/or coconut to it. And sometimes I use different spices, such as cardamom or nutmeg. You can also soak the raisins in rum, for a more adult flavour. Try it out and see what combination appeals to you.

Ingredients:
¾ cup raisins
boiling water
¾ cup butter or other vegetable shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
¼ cup water (I use the water that drains from the raisins after I plump them)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
salt, optional

Instructions:
1. Add the raisins to the boiling water, so they get plumper.
2. Beat together in a large bowl the butter, sugars, egg, water, and vanilla until creamy.
3. Add the oats, flour, baking soda, and salt if you want.
4. Add and mix in the raisins
5. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart on baking sheets.
6. Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown at 180 C.

Broccoli and Spinach with Raisins and Pine Nuts

As much as one might like to live off dessert, you do need actual food as well. So a few hours after the bread and butter pudding snack, I thought we should have a light dinner. I had all those raisins left, so I wanted to do something with them, and when I’d been at the grocery store, I’d been tempted by tender-stem broccoli, which you don’t see all that often. M and I both love spinach, so I’d gotten a package of fresh baby leaves too. Thus a recipe for slightly sweet greens began to take shape, inspired by a dish I saw in a magazine of spinach and pine nuts.

I don’t think M was totally convinced by this dish, but I liked the balance of flavours, the sweetness of the raisins with the veggies, all topped with piney tones. Maybe it’s worth pointing out that the recipe includes several flatulence-inducing ingredients, so you might want to be careful about who you serve it to and when, but then again, you can vary it with other ingredients if you prefer (or if necessary!). The recipe can be easily doubled to serve as a side dish for more people or as a larger meal. I just made a small amount, as we weren’t particularly hungry.

Ingredients:
.25 cup raisins (or half a handful)
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
olive oil
200 g spinach
6-8 tender-stem broccoli
30 g pine nuts
freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. Boil some water and soak the raisins in it for 5-10 minutes, until they get plump.
2. Finely chop the onion and garlic.
3. Fry the onion and garlic in a pan in olive oil.
4. Wilt the spinach by putting it in a Teflon or similar pot, with the lid on, over medium heat. Do not add any water. It takes just a few minutes, so keep an eye on it.
5. Chop the broccoli.
6. Add the spinach and the broccoli to the pan with the onion and garlic.
7. After a few minutes, add the drained raisins and the pine nuts. Stir and cook for another 5-10 minutes.
8. Season with pepper and serve.