Vegan Green Pesto

The nutritional yeast replaces the cheese here and helps make a delicious pesto. Spread it on tofu, eat it as a dip, or, of course, have it on pasta.

 

We freeze it in ice-cube trays and then take out one or two cubes when we need it.

 

Ingredients:

1 bunch basil (about ¾ cup)

3-4 garlic cloves

100 ml olive oil

40 g pine nuts

35 g nutritional yeast

1 tbsp lemon juice

black pepper to taste

 

Instructions:

1. Wash the basil. Peel the garlic.

2. Blend all the ingredients together until smooth.

Simple White Bread

Because M can handle white flour but not whole-wheat, I’ve been making a lot of white breads lately.

 

Ingredients:

12-14 g yeast (2 packages if using them)

300 ml warm water

1 tsp sugar

500 g strong white bread flour, plus a little extra

2 tsp salt

40 g margarine or oil

 

Instructions:

1. Mix the yeast, water, and sugar together and set aside to get frothy.

2. Mix the flour, salt, and margarine together. Then add the yeast mixture and knead well.

3. Leave to rise for an hour in an oiled mixing bowl covered with plastic wrap.

4. Knead again and shape into a loaf.

5. Sprinkle with a little flour, cut a pattern if you want, and leave to rise for another 45-60 minutes.

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

Vegan Avocado Ice Cream

Avocado is one of those glorious fruits that can be sweet or savoury. I was used to it in salads until I went to an ice cream place run by Filipinos and fell in love with their avocado ice cream. I’ve also used avocado in mousses.

 

This is my vegan version.

 

Ingredients:

3 avocados

¼ cup icing sugar

½ cup rice milk (or more, as needed)

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla

 

Instructions:

1. Halve the avocados and scoop out the flesh.

2. Blend the avocados with the other ingredients until smooth.

3. Pour into a freezer-safe container (Tupperware is great) and freeze for at least a few hours, then serve.

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.