Plummeting temperatures and cold winds have me yearning for warming foods. Uncomplicated cakes like this one. Adapted from the "Veggies Scoffer".
375g plain flour or mix of wholemeal and plain
2 tsp baking powder
230g muscovado sugar
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
180ml sunflower oil
1 1/2 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tsp vanilla essence
400ml soya milk
Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients. Mix both together, pour into square cake tin and bake at 175 degrees for about 40 mins.
Cool and frost with vanilla frosting (see vegan chocolate cake). Decorate with glacé ginger pieces.
Montag, 10. Oktober 2011
Dienstag, 4. Oktober 2011
Squash and savoy cabbage with pasta
I wasn´t sure the combination would work, but we thought it did rather well. Fitted the autumnal day.
Squash and savoy cabbage
1 onion, chopped (actually, this is entirely optional)
3 tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic (always tastes lovely with squash)
1 medium onion/acorn/hokkaido squash or butternut, cubed (you would need to peel the bn but not the onion squash)
1 medium head savoy cabbage
salt and pepper to taste
Heat the oil and gently fry the onion. Add the garlic and gently fry that, too. Add the squash pieces and fry some more. Add the cabbage (you may have to do that in batches), continue stirring. Add salt and pepper and possibly a dash of water to get the cabbage fully cooked. Serve over farfalle with some ricotta, crumbled feta or parmesan, if you like.
Squash and savoy cabbage
1 onion, chopped (actually, this is entirely optional)
3 tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic (always tastes lovely with squash)
1 medium onion/acorn/hokkaido squash or butternut, cubed (you would need to peel the bn but not the onion squash)
1 medium head savoy cabbage
salt and pepper to taste
Heat the oil and gently fry the onion. Add the garlic and gently fry that, too. Add the squash pieces and fry some more. Add the cabbage (you may have to do that in batches), continue stirring. Add salt and pepper and possibly a dash of water to get the cabbage fully cooked. Serve over farfalle with some ricotta, crumbled feta or parmesan, if you like.
Sonntag, 2. Oktober 2011
vegan chocolate cake with vanilla icing, easy veg chilli
So, here's another cake we made for yesterday. I am really pleased to have acquired the skill of making egg and dairy free cakes without egg replacement that are light and lovely. Thank you, Vegan Cupcakes take over the world!
For a small square cake tin:
2 cups soy milk
2 tsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cups oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract or chocolate extract
2 cups plain flour
2/3 cups cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 175 degrees and grease/line your cake tin.
Mix the soy milk with the apple cider and keep aside to curdle. Then mix in the oil, sugar and extracts with this.
Sift all the remaining ingredients into a large bowl. Pour in the liquid and mix until well combined. Do not overmix, a few lumps are ok!
Bake for 45 mins or so until a toothpick comes out clean.
For the icing:
1/4 cup veg shortening
1/4 cup margarine
1 3/4 cups icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 cup soy milk
Beat the softened fats till combined and fluffy. Add the sugar (best done in batches), continue beating. Add vanilla and soy milk and beat for another 5 mins or so. Spread onto cooled cake. I decorated this with some toasted desiccated coconut.
I really did not feel like making a fuss of cooking tonight, so I put some spuds in the oven. The kids just want butter with them, but I wanted something a bit more substantial (they tend to eat so many potatoes that mummydaddy need some add-on). So I made the easiest chilli ever. I usually cook with fresh ingredients, honestly!
2 tbsp oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp sambal oelek (I didn´t even bother to chop a fresh chilli)
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
1/2 can sweet corn
salt to taste
Sweat the onion in the oil. Add the spices until fragrant. Pour in the entire contents of the cans (i.e. do not drain the beans). Bring to the boil and simmer until potatoes are done. This made my chilli nice and thick, but top up with water if you are dealing with giant spuds or want a thinner consistency.
For a small square cake tin:
2 cups soy milk
2 tsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cups oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract or chocolate extract
2 cups plain flour
2/3 cups cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 175 degrees and grease/line your cake tin.
Mix the soy milk with the apple cider and keep aside to curdle. Then mix in the oil, sugar and extracts with this.
Sift all the remaining ingredients into a large bowl. Pour in the liquid and mix until well combined. Do not overmix, a few lumps are ok!
Bake for 45 mins or so until a toothpick comes out clean.
For the icing:
1/4 cup veg shortening
1/4 cup margarine
1 3/4 cups icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 cup soy milk
Beat the softened fats till combined and fluffy. Add the sugar (best done in batches), continue beating. Add vanilla and soy milk and beat for another 5 mins or so. Spread onto cooled cake. I decorated this with some toasted desiccated coconut.
I really did not feel like making a fuss of cooking tonight, so I put some spuds in the oven. The kids just want butter with them, but I wanted something a bit more substantial (they tend to eat so many potatoes that mummydaddy need some add-on). So I made the easiest chilli ever. I usually cook with fresh ingredients, honestly!
2 tbsp oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp sambal oelek (I didn´t even bother to chop a fresh chilli)
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
1/2 can sweet corn
salt to taste
Sweat the onion in the oil. Add the spices until fragrant. Pour in the entire contents of the cans (i.e. do not drain the beans). Bring to the boil and simmer until potatoes are done. This made my chilli nice and thick, but top up with water if you are dealing with giant spuds or want a thinner consistency.
Stuff of Life: Sweet Bread (sunwheel) and Apple Flan
Every year, there is a festival in the park where we live. It is a wonderful celebration of the community we have. Yesterday was glorious, such a warm and sunlit day! There always is a breadmaking competition, because the park used to be the site of a bakery, and though my spelt sunwheel did not win, I am posting the recipe, plus the cakes we made for the Residents' Association Cafe.
The bread is based on Ingrid Früchtel´s Grosses Vollkorn Backbuch. She never uses sugar, though, but I don´t like to bake with honey, as I believe it is not good to heat honey too much (Ayurveda). And of course I mess around with the recipes... But this is what I did.
Sweet Spelt Bread
3 tsp dried active yeast
200ml lukewarm milk
150g soft butter
100g sugar
1 egg
grated zest of 1 lemon, or 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
250g wholemeal spelt flour (I love to grind spelt freshly in my kitchen mill, but spelt grain is hard to come by in this country)
250g plain or strong white flour
Mix dry ingredients including yeast. Add milk, butter and beaten egg. Knead into a dough. Actually, I did follow the recommendation and put it in the fridge overnight. This lets the dough rise ever so slowly, resulting in a nice, fine-pored dough that is easy to manage. Whatever way you do it, once it is risen, form into whatever shapes you fancy. The book has some really nice ideas for ancient bread-shapes. Bread magick!
These were the sunwheels and yulebread we made for christmas last year. I`ll supply a drawing of the sunwheel at some point...
Brush with a little beaten eggyolk mixed with 1 tbsp water and drizzle with slithered almonds or poppy seeds if you fancy. Oh, and bake at 200 degrees in a preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes or until lightly browned on top and sounding hollow if tapped underneath.
The Apple Flan is based on a recipe from the same book. Roughly.
Apple Flan
150g plain flour
100g porridge oats
100g coarsely ground hazelnuts
1/2 tsp cinnamon
100g cold butter
170g sugar (demara for a fancier taste)
600g cooking apples, peeled, cored and finely sliced
300g quark, fromage frais or curd cheese
2 eggs
grated zest of 1 lemon plus 2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp ground vanilla (or use 1/2 tsp essence)
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Grease a deep baking sheet (dripping pan).
Mix Flour, oats, nuts, 100g of the sugar and cinnamon. Put the butter in flakes over this mix and knead in quickly with cold hands or two spoons. The mix should be a proper crumble consistency. Chill crumbles until ready to use. Arrange the apples neatly or randomly in the baking sheet. Mix the quark with the eggs, the remaining 70g sugar, lemon zest and juice and vanilla. Pour over the apples then arrange crumble mix on top. Bake for about 35 mins.
The bread is based on Ingrid Früchtel´s Grosses Vollkorn Backbuch. She never uses sugar, though, but I don´t like to bake with honey, as I believe it is not good to heat honey too much (Ayurveda). And of course I mess around with the recipes... But this is what I did.
Sweet Spelt Bread
3 tsp dried active yeast
200ml lukewarm milk
150g soft butter
100g sugar
1 egg
grated zest of 1 lemon, or 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
250g wholemeal spelt flour (I love to grind spelt freshly in my kitchen mill, but spelt grain is hard to come by in this country)
250g plain or strong white flour
Mix dry ingredients including yeast. Add milk, butter and beaten egg. Knead into a dough. Actually, I did follow the recommendation and put it in the fridge overnight. This lets the dough rise ever so slowly, resulting in a nice, fine-pored dough that is easy to manage. Whatever way you do it, once it is risen, form into whatever shapes you fancy. The book has some really nice ideas for ancient bread-shapes. Bread magick!
These were the sunwheels and yulebread we made for christmas last year. I`ll supply a drawing of the sunwheel at some point...
Brush with a little beaten eggyolk mixed with 1 tbsp water and drizzle with slithered almonds or poppy seeds if you fancy. Oh, and bake at 200 degrees in a preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes or until lightly browned on top and sounding hollow if tapped underneath.
The Apple Flan is based on a recipe from the same book. Roughly.
Apple Flan
150g plain flour
100g porridge oats
100g coarsely ground hazelnuts
1/2 tsp cinnamon
100g cold butter
170g sugar (demara for a fancier taste)
600g cooking apples, peeled, cored and finely sliced
300g quark, fromage frais or curd cheese
2 eggs
grated zest of 1 lemon plus 2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp ground vanilla (or use 1/2 tsp essence)
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Grease a deep baking sheet (dripping pan).
Mix Flour, oats, nuts, 100g of the sugar and cinnamon. Put the butter in flakes over this mix and knead in quickly with cold hands or two spoons. The mix should be a proper crumble consistency. Chill crumbles until ready to use. Arrange the apples neatly or randomly in the baking sheet. Mix the quark with the eggs, the remaining 70g sugar, lemon zest and juice and vanilla. Pour over the apples then arrange crumble mix on top. Bake for about 35 mins.
Freitag, 16. September 2011
potato pulao, spinach and chickpeas
Yes, my husband can cook, too! Actually, he cooks really well, and I love it when he cooks, even more, when we cook together.
Last night, he improvised this meal which the kids loved, too.
Potato Pulao:
2 cups basmati rice
4 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
salt to taste
Heat the oil in a pan. Fry the cumin seeds until lightly toasted. Add the potatoes and fry for a little bit, until they start to brown and/or soften. Add the rice, stir to coat with oil. Add the turmeric and about 4 cups of water and the salt. Bring to a boil then simmer till done (the tricky bit is to cut the potatoes into pieces that will cook before the rice goes completely mushy).
Spinach and chickpeas:
a nice bunch of spinach, rinsed and roughly chopped
2 tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 can chickpeas
1 tsp chana masala (this was my idea, and it turned out nicely :-) )
salt to taste
Heat the oil in a frying pan. Allow the onion to soften, then add the tomatoes. Wilt the spinach in the pan. When that is nice and limp, add chickpeas and spices. Heat through.
Serve with the Pulao, pickle and yoghurt.
Last night, he improvised this meal which the kids loved, too.
Potato Pulao:
2 cups basmati rice
4 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
salt to taste
Heat the oil in a pan. Fry the cumin seeds until lightly toasted. Add the potatoes and fry for a little bit, until they start to brown and/or soften. Add the rice, stir to coat with oil. Add the turmeric and about 4 cups of water and the salt. Bring to a boil then simmer till done (the tricky bit is to cut the potatoes into pieces that will cook before the rice goes completely mushy).
Spinach and chickpeas:
a nice bunch of spinach, rinsed and roughly chopped
2 tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 can chickpeas
1 tsp chana masala (this was my idea, and it turned out nicely :-) )
salt to taste
Heat the oil in a frying pan. Allow the onion to soften, then add the tomatoes. Wilt the spinach in the pan. When that is nice and limp, add chickpeas and spices. Heat through.
Serve with the Pulao, pickle and yoghurt.
Samstag, 10. September 2011
Granny's apple cake
My granny died recently. She was famed for this apple cake of hers.
250g butter
200g plain flour
100g sugar (or less, to taste)
vanilla (sugar or essence)
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
1 kg apples, skinned, cored and sliced
make a shortcrust pastry. (If veganising, use margarine, leave out egg. Margarine should make the dough moist enough, but if in doubt, add a few spoonful of cold water). Chill dough.
Prepare apples while dough is chilling.
Grease a springform cake tin or tarte form. Press most of dough into form. Arrange apples on dough, generously. Tear pieces of leftover dough over apples. Sprinkle with a little sugar and sliced almonds if you like.
Bake at 200 degrees for about 1 hours.
Absolutely serve with whipped cream, or custard if you must.
250g butter
200g plain flour
100g sugar (or less, to taste)
vanilla (sugar or essence)
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
1 kg apples, skinned, cored and sliced
make a shortcrust pastry. (If veganising, use margarine, leave out egg. Margarine should make the dough moist enough, but if in doubt, add a few spoonful of cold water). Chill dough.
Prepare apples while dough is chilling.
Grease a springform cake tin or tarte form. Press most of dough into form. Arrange apples on dough, generously. Tear pieces of leftover dough over apples. Sprinkle with a little sugar and sliced almonds if you like.
Bake at 200 degrees for about 1 hours.
Absolutely serve with whipped cream, or custard if you must.
Vegan Pledge
As I wrote before, I have been interested in veganism lately, and at the moment I am doing the Vegan Pledge for 1 month. Check out the Vegan Society's homepage for more info: http://www.vegansociety.com/veganpledge/. If you sign up for it, they will send you a host of great info material and fab recipe ideas to get you started and going. I don't know at all yet whether I will become vegan more permanently, even on a 'vegan at home, vegetarian outside' basis, but treading lighter on our planet is an ongoing concern of mine. And in this vein, I am not sure whether a vegan diet is necessarily lower impact than a vegetarian one, considering that, e.g., the soya cheese I bought was produced in the USA, and where the soy beans were produced, who knows. Reducing food miles, however, seems to me an obvious good idea!
Abonnieren
Posts (Atom)