sugar free Archives - Page 2 of 3

Easy Aubergine (Eggplant) - Nasu Dengaku with Sautéed Bok Choy and Citrus Dressing

October 25, 2012 by India Leigh

My trip is only a week away! Buenos Aires is nearly here…or, I’m nearly there? It is weird, to think I’m going to be in a whole new environment. New smells, language, customs. Argentina is well known for it’s beef production. The Spanish conquistadors brought cows to the country in the early 1500′ and now Argentina has the worlds 2nd highest consumption of cattle. Why am I going there, you ask? Well, the vegan scene is burgeoning rapidly in Buenos Aires, and I want to speak to the people that are making this happen, in what has been predominately a country of meat-heads. I want to see if the new wave of vegans can make Argentina forgo their massive export revenue and become plant loving, tempeh making exporters instead. Excited (and optimistic)!

In preparation for my trip I am scrubbing my place from top to bottom, and abstaining from buying any more cupboard staples until I’ve used up the food I already have. I was inspired then, to make a Japanese dish when I came across a thin packet of bean curd skin, known as yuba, slipped beneath my silicone chocolate making molds. I’d sampled and loved yuba whilst in San Fransico last year, made by a Hoodo Soy out of Oakland, so I put it on my list of ‘ingredients to try’. I’d stashed some in my food drawer and promptly forgotten about it. When a craving hit for aubergine, I decided to have a Japanese night to use up the yuba and try something new.

This is what I made….. It is low fat, gluten free and vegan.

Nasu Dengaku. It is a very, very simple and tasty dish. Not much involved with the preparation and the sauce takes about three minutes to prepare and cook. How easy is that?!
The flavours really took me out of my food rut, which is a blessing. Writing about food, I have to keep my ideas fresh and be keen to experiment, otherwise there would be no blog! I made a bok choy sauté with a fresh limey dressing to go with it, the recipe for that is further down.
This meal is mostly a ‘pop in the oven and forget about it..for half an hour’ type of affair. Great for a mid-week meal.

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 med aubergines
2 spring/scallion onion
2 Tbs miso (most recipes called for white miso which is sweeter but I only had dark to hand)
8 Tbs mirin
4 tsp sugar (I used zero calorie xylitol, a healthier alternative made from birch sap. Great for diabetics and those wishing to loose weight…it worked better than I expected).
1 Tbs sesame oil
1 Tbs sesame seeds

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees.

Method

1. slice the aubergines to 1.5 inch thick (or if you prefer, slice lengthways) and then score the tops with a criss cross pattern, careful not to cut the skin. Brush with the oil and pop into the oven for 30-35mins until beginning to collapse/soften.

2. meanwhile put the miso, mirin and sugar into a pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for a minute, until the miso has melted and begins to thicken.

3. when the aubergine is ready, remove from the oven and pour over the hot sauce. Sprinkle the aubergine steaks with sesame seeds and the chopped spring onion (scallion). Serve.

If you want to make a vibrant Japanese salad to accompany it (you so do), and see how I faired with the yuba, then read on.

I sat and thought for a while what to do with the bean curd skin. Previously, I’d considered making a wrap out of it, , using it like a tortilla but for some reason, on this day I didn’t want that. I looked around on the internet for inspiration and decided to make like pasta with it. The product I bought was so different from the subtle yuba I’d had at the Ferry Building. Mine was extremely salty. I sampled a bit before doing anything with it. I thought best to roll it up and cut into papadelle size strips then put it in the steaming basket. This did nothing to disperse the heavily salted taste so I tipped it into the hot water for a few seconds and it much improved it. But to be honest, I wouldn’t use dried yuba again. So, try it and make up your own mind. Tell me if you know a better way with it.

Do read on and make the warm salad. I promise you it is light and flavoursome.

I had all intentions to make this as a raw salad, and you can too if you like. But in the end I ate the Nasu Dengaku cold and lightly sautéed the bok choy with some garlic.

Sautéed Bok Choy with lime and orange dressing.

Ingredients

3 large heads (is that what you’d call them?) of bok chou

Dressing

1 Tbs tamari

1/2 juice of lime plus zest

1 tsp freshly squeezed orange juice

1 Tbs sesame oil (or rapeseed oil if you don’t have in store cupboard)

1 tsp xylitol

pinch chili flakes or fresh red chilli if you have some available.

1 minced garlic clove (omit if you are making a raw salad, but use if like me, you sautéing the greens)

Method

Mix all the ingredients for the dressing and serve over the greens for a raw salad.

Stir fry the greens for l minute in a little oil with the garlic. Serve with the Nasu Dengaku, yuba and then drizzle over the citrus dressing.

The layers of flavour combinations are so distinct and fresh, it was a wonderful vacation for my tastebuds. The thick, almost caramel taste of the aubergine sauce is really complimented by the slightly sharp dressing. The ‘meaty’ texture of the yuba and eggplant (aubergine) sop up the flavours like a sponge make for a very interesting but very easy supper. Sure to be loved by ‘meat heads’ and veggies alike.

thanks to Azelias Kitchen for the inspiration

Super Snack - want a snack that disguises itself as indulgent but is actually healthy?

October 11, 2012 by India Leigh

I found this great snack on the internet the other day. It is sweet, good for you and, if you keep a tray in the freezer, you are only ever minutes away from a sweet, guiltless ‘chocolatey’ boost.

It’s 5 ingredients to fruity heaven.

Pick a fruit of your choice - pictured above - Half moons of citrusy Clementines. If you chill it in advance the chocolate/carob will set much quicker and make it easier to make an aesthetic dip (as I learnt after I made it!). They are real fun to make.

I chose to use carob instead of chocolate, because a)that is what I had nestled in my cupboard b)chocolate contains caffeine and I’m off that right now. Carob is also naturally sweet so I had no need to add extra sweetener.

2 Tbs carob flour
1 Tbs coconut oil
pinch salt
(optional) 4 drops orange or lemon oil

Gently melt the coconut oil. Thoroughly stir in the flour, salt and citrus oil, if using. Dip each orange jewel into the carob, covering one half. Put on parchment sheet and pop into the fridge or freezer to set. It takes just a few minutes.

10 segments = Only 21 calories per segment!

The thin, crisp layer of smooth carob melts to the cool, sweet, juicy, zesty clementine. It really is that simple.

I also dipped slices of succulent, fresh fig, and small nibs of dried sweet mulberries. Both are low GI. Add a little pinch of chili powder for a brazen little kick.

A great idea for a post work-out snack or healthy alternative to sugary sweets for your wee ones.

Be well

India Leigh xx

p.s When I rediscover where I found this fruity recipe, I’ll come back and give her due credit.

Raw Berry & Tang - 2 layer Cheesecake

September 17, 2012 by India Leigh

September (??) how did that happen? I still want to be surrounded by summer!!! It came so fast, hardly time to blink before it was Secret recipe club time again.
Once again I was given a link to a distant foodie. To then poke around, under cover of darkness, to covertly trawl through recipes that made me drool. To then choose one to recreate in my home. Really, when you think about it, it’s a bit like teleportation. Well, I’m finding something, then bringing it to life hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Also, for good measure, it is time travel too. Hear me out. It’s like… the Big Bang occurs in one kitchen, and then, months later, the outfall from that, reaches here. So, recipes are like me, standing on my patch of grass and looking at stars…..well a little bit anyway (ahem..I think it’s the sugar rush..gone to ma head!)

Chelsy from Mangia (means to eat in Italian…she’s Italian…well actually from Texas, but the roots…they are Italian) had no idea I was snooping on her kitchen activities. She has a LONG list of recipes on her blog and boy is she addicted to coconut…and peanut butter! A moment of warm and fuzzy arrived when I read that Chelsy began cooking gluten free because of her fierce love of her little sister, who suffers from celiacs disease. Ahh, the Italians family bond is certainly strong.

I was tempted by so many of her recipes. Happy to see lots of vegan and gluten free bakery bites that I had no need to veganize. Sugar free too! Easy breezy. I toyed with making the Lavender Vanilla Bean Scones then definitely decided to make the Apple Pie Breakfast Cakes before actually recreating the Raw Blackberry Cheesecake. It looked so good. I also couldn’t help myself and made her chocolate dipped biscotti (gluten free sugar free vegan) too. I didn’t add the oats and I used carob instead of chocolate and they turned out with a nice hard biscotti bite and were lovely. I packaged them up in brown paper wrap and a mauve straw tie, and delivered them to a friend for her birthday.

The cheesecake was relatively simple to make, and I complicated it by adding another layer to the cake. Of course, you don’t need to do that. I used the ingredients I had to hand. I picked more berries than I needed so I could freeze the surplus and make a blueberry and apple crumble next week. Yay, for autumn and ‘crumble’ season (those of you in the USA call it ‘crisp’). Same thing.

Raw Berry & Tang Cheesecake

Ingredients

base
1 c sprouted and dehydrated raw buckwheat
1/2 cup almonds soaked overnight and rinsed (or just use pre made almond flour)
2 dates (soak them a little to soften)
1 Tbs melted coconut oil
1/4 tsp salt

blackberry layer
1/4 cup agave or coconut syrup
I cup cashews soaked over night and rinsed
1 cup freshly picked blackberries
1 Tbs melted coconut oil
1 tsp fresh vanilla powder
pinch salt

mango & passionfruit layer
1 small mango. peel and cut flesh away from the stone
1/4 cup cashews soaked over night and rinsed
2 Tbs passionfruit juice (push through a sieve to separate the pips…they are way too crunchy for me and my dentist already very rich) 3 whole passion fruits yield
a few drops of lemon oil, not essential but it elevates the zing a little
pinch of salt

Method

base
1. put all ingredients into a blender and blend until a dough starts to form. Press mixture down into bottom of a springform pan and pop in freezer whilst preparing other layers.

blackberry layer
1. put all ingredients into a blender with exception of coconut oil and blend until smooth then slowly pour in the oil. This prevents curdling and makes it so silky.
2. pop the mixture on top of the base and pop back into freezer again to set.

mango passionfruit layer
1. just do the same as the blackberry layer.

Pop in the freezer to set for about an hour. Remove 10 minutes or so before serving.

Here is the biscotti - Chelsy, I think you’d be proud!

Well, that is Septembers Secret Recipe Club done. Now to await the reveal and see what everyone else made, AND who got me as their ‘secret’ recipe pal this month. Why don’t you come join us!

be well

India Leigh xx

Custard Apple from Mother Nature

September 12, 2012 by India Leigh

Sometimes mother nature just gives you a gentle nudge to remind you that ‘She’ is the greatest gastronomist.

Our huge Asian store in Brighton is a great place for me to dig around and unearth unusual, new (to me) ingredients. Whilst I took temporary relief from the hot yellow sun last weekend, I spotted a round, blackened ‘thing’ among the crates of bright limes and towers of humongous grapefruits. It stood out like a rough, sore thumb. It looked almost like a curled, magnified woodlice, or perhaps a fir cone! Not really the stuff to get ones mouth watering! A beautiful young Indian server informed me it was a custard apple. ‘Try it. It is delicious’ he assured me with enthusiasm. He prompted again, noticing my sceptical face. ‘It is ninety-nine pence…..what do you have to loose?’ He smiled and passed one to me across the stack of citrus.

I paid for the strange fruit and carried it home. After putting down my bags and stuffing my shopping into cupboards and drawers I gingerly peeled open the willing hard skin. I had no idea what to expect. Magic and wonder filled my little bright kitchen. Inside was a slightly gritty cream toned flesh. Elongated triangles surrounded shiny black beads. With care, I sucked the flesh from the pip. Wow. It was sweet, with hints of vanilla and apple. Like mounds of homemade custard infused with gentle swirls of English apple sauce. Extraordinarily worthy of its title.

Autopilot started my brain whirring to devise a delectable dessert with this tropical Asian fruit. I saw visions of raw sweet almond and coconut tart bases filled with pillows of the pale mashed fruit. Or drizzled with a citrus and caramel sauce. Then I stopped short. Rapped my knuckle to my furrowed brow. Silly me. Why tamper with perfection?!

So, this is a guest post by Mother Nature herself. She proudly presents the Custard Apple. A magnificent mono dessert that needs no alteration or accompaniment.

Sweet….filling….and delicate.

Low fat, sugar free, bustling with goodness. Have you ever tasted a custard apple? Let me know in the comments below.

love

India Leigh x

Sublime Arctic Grasshopper Pie

July 23, 2012 by India Leigh

It’s The Secret Recipe Club time again. How’d that happen?! It has come back around again so quickly. I am convinced time is speeding up! As they say, ‘my life already’! Less ‘manana’, more ‘eck, hurry up love’, is called for.

Delving around the blog of this month’s secret recipe buddy - enter Jamie from Our Eating Habits, I get the feeling, time isn’t snapping at her heals in the kitchen. If it did I think she’d beat it back with a wooden spoon. Nothing is stopping this girl from having fun in the kitchen.

The SRC is good at keeping me from tunnel vision when it comes to food. Being a vegan, I do tend to have my Internet homing pigeon set to ‘plant-based recipes’, but having a blog assigned by our hostess Angela, to poke around by someone else, I get to spy on recipes which probably wouldn’t normally be in my sights. For instance, I wouldn’t put ‘grasshopper’ into a Google search box, unless I was researching natural history, or say, old cult classic karate films. Definitely not in relation to food anywho. Jamie has a zillion (well, an exaggeration..she’s just a few shy of that) recipes on her food blog. I saw Grasshopper Pie and I was curiosofied! Not like some sicko, leering at something forbidden, more like the 7 year old tomboy in me spotted it next to ‘Worms and Dirt’ and got the whiff of fun in the air. It had been raining for three and a half months straight in England, I needed all the fun I could gather!
The first viewing of the ingredients list alone were almost enough to put lil’ ole Miss Purity Pants into a hyper blood- sugar rush! After blowing into a brown paper bag to stave off hyperventilation, I threw on my red satin ‘veganize’ cape and spun into action. I wanted whipped….minted….choccywokky…creamy…. and coooool! A la Vegan. Cupboards banged, scooping spoons were dirtied, the sink filled up with an assortment of bowls. Coconut oil was eaten straight from a spoon (and rubbed onto elbows to nourish my sun-poor, winter skin)….and VOILA!

Creamy Supreme Arctic Grasshopper Pie

Ok, it isn’t green, more your ‘albino’ green, but it is really, really minty. It smells like green. Tastes like green. I’m guessing that is why they called it grasshopper pie in the 1950’s, when those jive bopping Americans invented it. Or was it because the Creme de Menthe had those crazy quiffed haired teenagers hopping all over the place? My loves, we may never know.
What I do know is it has more Medium Chain Fatty acids (MCFA’s) than you could shake a stick at! Closest to that of mommy’s milk = good for you. Unlike saturated animal fats, MCFA’s are not readily stored in the body but digested as used as human rocket fuel!

Jamie’s original pudding/pie recipe is here. Her recipe has crushed Oreo’s in them. I thinking Oreo’s aren’t gluten free, or very vegan. But if you are not either then… However, I made a lovely crumb that is just like crushed up cookies.

Serves 4

Ingredients

Topping
1 can of full fat Coconut Milk refrigerated (unopened) overnight
2 Tbs xylitol sugar, ground in coffee grinder (or icing sugar if you haven’t quit sugar…yet)
1 tsp peppermint extract

Base
6 dates, softened by soaking
1 tbs liquid vanilla (Asian shops sell BARONS liquid, san alcohol, vanilla), if not use water and vanilla powder
1/4 cup coconut flour (or soaked and drained pistachios or Brazil’s) the coconut flour is high fibre, lower fat
pinch Himalayan or Celtic salt
1 tbs crushed pistachios
2 tbs carob or cacao powder
2 tbs coconut oil - gently melted

Drizzle
1 Tbs carob or cacao powder
2 Tbs coconut oil - gently melted
1/2 tsp peppermint oil
pinch salt

How to

1. for the base, put all ingredients into a blender and pulse until the crumbs hold together when pressed. Tumble the crumb into a 8inch square dish that you’ve pre-greased with coconut oil. Press down firmly. Refrigerate or freeze while you prepare the other ingredients.
2. to make the ‘cream’ filling. Open up the can of coconut milk, (do not shake or turn over the can) and gently scoop out the unquious white cream (leaving behind the clear coconut water. you can use this in other recipes) and decant into a mixing bowl. Add the other ‘filling’ ingredients and whisk lightly. Grab the chilled base out of the fridge or freezer and pour the minty cream over the top. Pop into the freezer for 1 hour (minimum).

3. prepare the drizzle with the melted coconut oil, the carob, peppermint oil and salt. Stir until smooth.
4. take the pie from the freezer and drizzle the carob sauce over the pie in a delightfully artful manner (or splosh it randomly like I did whilst muttering mild obscenities and your inefficacy at food decoration). Don’t take eons either else it will melt quicker than the polar ice caps. House it back into the freezer for 30mins before serving.

I would suggest eating this in company if your will power is poor to middling. Solo consumption is advised with caution.

I also knocked up this ‘pie in a jar’. I layered filling and the base with chopped pistachio before crowning with mint carob confection. If you’ve not tried carob then I suggest a little sampling is in order. Carob is a naturally sweet, sticky legume that is the colour of chocolate, does have any stimulants in it, is low carb and low glycemic and has lots of vitamin D. It does a rather brilliant job of mimicking chocolate flavour, but because of it’s sweetness it needs little additional sweetener. Good job, carob!

The cute glass spoon was ‘glass blown’ right in front of my eyes by an old dear physicist friend of mine. I’d visited to take him to the supermarket but he convinced me to sit in his ‘lab’ in the kitchen and learn to blow glass instead. Fun times.

Check out the other Secret Recipe Club’s recipes shown. I love ‘reveal’ day, when all our efforts are uploaded into cyberkitchen, and the anticipation of discovering just who was assigned to make one of my recipes and what they chose.

Thanks Jamie, I had such fun with the Grasshopper Pie. Your blog has also inspired me to make corn chowder. My next project, that I am thinking will be a chilled affair. x

sugar free, vegan, gluten free, low carb

Christmas feasting - Part 2 - XMAS PUDDINGS, CAKES & POPS Allergy friendly, healthy, dairy-free and DELICIOUS

December 17, 2011 by India Leigh

A week left to go…you’ve not made a Christmas pudding but your taste memory is driving you crazy and you are CRAVING! Oh, but it’s so calorific and full of sugar and gluten and takes ages to prepare’ you say. ‘ OH NO IT DOESN’T!‘ I reply in hearty Panto stylee! Not when you make it my way. Not only that I will show you how to make 3 puddings (free from sugar, gluten and dairy) from one base….Jingle right on over here and I’ll show you how.

Ingredients for the mincemeat base

4 cloves, 1/2 tsp fennel seeds & 4 cardamon pods (discard the green husks) - freshly ground

1/2 tsp wattle seed *a spice from Australia that gives a chocolaty, slightly bitter coffee flavour - totally optional

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 freshly squeezed juice from an orange

2 tbs orange zest

the zest from 1/2 lemon

5 pitied dates

3 organic dried apricots

1/4 cup raisins

1 cinnamon stick

2 tbs brown rice syrup (or agave or coconut sugar)

1/2 cup apple juice or one fresh grated dessert apple

2 tbs Marvell or similar veggie/vegan Brandy

shaving of nutmeg

1/8 tsp salt

Now, to explain, the ingredients above make the BASE that can be added to make Xmas pudding and Christmas cake, or stand alone it is a (seemingly) indulgent, perfectly balanced, filling for mince pies (the British have been eating mince pies…and yes, they originally contained meat..eh, gross!…for hundreds of years)….just pop a spoon of the mix into pastry cases or even wonton wrappers and you’ve made mince pies.

You can also make Christmas Pudding by adding the following. I did mention earlier it was lower in calories than a ‘standard’ recipe. Why? Because I use a higher flour to fruit ratio and it is also lower carbs because of the use of nut flours, instead of grain, which are lower in carbs. The puds are gluten and dairy free too. I promise you it tastes of Christmas and is dense and oh so moist. The scent as you steam it, fills the house with the lively burst of oranges and sweet cinnamon.

To make the Xmas pudding, add these ingredients to the base, fruit mixture (for an 8′ steam pudding bowl - serves 4-6)

1 cup sorghum flour

1/2 cup almond flour

1/2 cup chestnut flour (you can substitute this for almond flour or brown rice flour if you can’t source the chestnut flour)

1/2 cup coconut powder (or ground dessicated coconut)

2 tbs tapioca flour

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbs apple cider vinegar

2 tsp orange oil (or 1 tbs zest)

2 tbs roasted pine nuts

3 drops Frankincense (optional) you can use 1 tsp vanilla as an alternative

3 tbs brown rice syrup or agave etc.

1.mix all the ingredients together 2. and dollop the mix into a bowl that has been greased and then lined with tin foil and then inside that baking parchment. Ensure you have left a good over hang of baking foil/paper so that you can tuck the pudding in as snug as a bug in a rug. 3. Pop n the lid and simmer for 2 hours. I performed a little experiment as I wondered if this was an unduly long time and something that was passed down word of mouth and never questioned…so I popped some of the mix into a wrap of foil and parchment, made a foil hammock and made wings to hang it over the side of the pot. The pudding cooked in half the time! You do what you feel best (it of course looks the part when steamed in a bowl).

to flame up the Brandy in the pudding, steam for 2 hours and when heat a spoon of Brandy, set it alight and then pour it over the top. Guaranteed to induce some ‘ooohs and ahhs’. I’ve a confession to make…the flame went out before I’d fumbled for the on button on my camera and captured the transparent blue glow on the puddings peak….the flame you see is a tea light standing onto of a shot glass…I knew you’d spot the faux pas so best to fess up.

And the last minute Christmas cake is a doddle using half THE BASE mincemeat mixture, plus these additional ingredients - makes 7′ cake. Use a springform pan. Preheat oven to 200 (I don’t have a picture of this as used some for the final recipe here, and a friend and I polished of the rest with some dandelion & burdock fizz.

1/2 cup sorghum flour

1/2 cup almond flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tbs soy lecithin or bread crumbs

bake for about 15 mins or until a piece of dried spaghetti or a cocktail stick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let it rest for 10 mins before removing from pan. A frosting with orange zest and a tsp of orange oil would be lovely, settled in peaks over the top of the cake or you can be traditional and cover with icing.

The Pièce de résistance …… Christmas Cake Pops!

Incredibly simple to make (but don’t tell anyone) 1. take your left over Christmas pud or cake and roll sponge into small balls, put them in the fridge to chill for at least an hour.. 2.Melt some dark, bitter chocolate (at least 75% cacao) and melt slowly in a bowl, sitting in boiling water. 3. take balls from the fridge and dip into the melted chocolate. The chill from the cold cake will harden the chocolate very rapidly. Place each one on a parchment lined baking and when all are dressed in chocolate carefully put them in the fridge to harden. They are so lovely as a little sweet amuse bouche or you can wrap them and give as gifts.

I’ve a couple more Xmas dessert recipes up my sleeve that I’d like to share. If I get time I’ll extend the Christmas recipes to a Part 4.

Have a happy weekend. x Sign up for emails to make sure you get Christmas Feasting Part 3. Get Christmas Feasting Part 1 here

Harvest berry Almond Torte - Bake it if you want what’s GOOD for YOU.

September 26, 2011 by India Leigh

I am typing this missive from under the cover of my book den. Towers of autobiographies, cooking books and novels surround me. The structure made airtight by photocopies of recipes stuffed in the gaps. Of course this is an untruth but I am being hounded by unread text…or that is how it feels. I am inundated by others words, ideas and findings. This is great, I learn so much, I do wonder though….am I loosing my own thread? I’ve tinkered with recipes lately but not come up with any original ones of my own. I miss the creative process. The time spent surveying the contents of my fridge and waiting for my brain to draw a picture on my taste buds, when I then plunge into action, gathering the selected ingredients to do some culinary alchemy. Successes and failures happen. From my successes I get to feast (and share them with you) from my failures I inevitably learn what not to do.

One of the cookbooks, flashing like a Belisha beacon to attract my attention was Gluten-free, Sugar-free Cooking by Susan O’Brien, it is not new (published 2006) but it was to me. Susan is currently working on a new book due for sale in February 2012.

Not much in the book stood out to me as being totally original (in their defence, they’ve had 5 years to integrate) but there were a few that caught my eye. This one I will share with you first.

ALMOND TORTE

I adjusted a few ingredients and also halved the quantities given in the book to suit my needs and store cupboard contents. It morphed into ALMOND TORTE WITH HARVEST BERRY SAUCE

Ingredients

1/4 cup oil (I used olive oil)
1 cup apple juice
1/2 cup apple sauce
1 1/4 cup hemp milk
1 cup pea protein (Ms O’Brien used brown rice flour instead of the pea protein and coconut flour - I used them to drastically reduce the carbs..and because I didn’t have any BRF)
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup fruit syrup
2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups ground almonds

Harvest berry sauce
2 cups freshly picked blackberries (thank you hedgerows)
1/2 cup blackcurrant, fruit sweetened jam

Method

1. preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray with oil a 9 inch cake pan (the type with the loose bottom is best)
2. in a large bowl, mix the oil and fruit syrup well then add the applesauce and juice, hemp milk and vanilla and almond extract.
3. in a separate bowl, mix the flours, baking powder and salt, along with the ground almonds. Add wet ingredients to the dry. Blend but do not over mix.
4.pour batter into your cake pan and bake for approx 45-55 mins or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake.
5.cool on a wire rack for at least 20 mins before you remove from the pan. Chill in the fridge before cutting.
6. to make the sauce, pass the blackberries through a sieve to remove some of those pips and then mix with the jam. If you do not have jam, thicken the sauce with arrowroot. Spoon atop your glorious creation.

bup pup a pupapa paa…. TORTE

I loved it SO much I made another a few days later and this time used orange, fruit sweetened jam for the topping. It was LUSCIOUS!

Just in case you need any more of a push to make this recipe it is so good for you and here is an info share.

Pea Protein
A vegetable based protein which offers an excellent nutritional and amino acid profile. Free of gluten, lactose, cholesterol, sugar and is a great source of protein for those with certain food intolerance.
Per 30g:
Energy: 501KJ
Energy: 119.7Kcal
Protein (dry basis): 24.6g
Carbohydrates: 3.2g
Fat: 0.9g
of which saturates: 0.17g
of which mono unsaturates: 0.26g
of which poly unsaturates: 0.45g
Sodium: 0.4g
Coconut flour
Per 100g:
Energy: 443 cal
Protein: 17.4g
Carbohydrates: 21.7
Fat:15.1g 14g of this is MCT’s - get the low down here about Medium-chain triglycerides
Reported to improve your digestive health, regulate blood sugar, protect against diabetes, lower your cholesterol. It is gluten free and fibre rich and low in carbs. Wow.

Almonds are also power houses of goodness - Nutritionally boastful nuts

Don’t even get me started on all the GOOD oils that Hemp contains

If you don’t have a glossy coat and a spring in your step after that lot then….

I think you may agree…Wow. Go BAKE!

Vitao - London VEGAN restaurant review

August 26, 2011 by India Leigh

I was hopping into London for a Bloggers Meetup so, of course, preplanning where I was to eat(food research…a glorious chore). The meetup was in Soho so I Googled the area and abracadabra…Vitao flashed its vegan credentials at me. I had been before but it has altered its style of service to a buffet (to budge over and create some room for it’s sister VANTRA - which is more restaurant style).

How it works is this - you get a choice of 3 plates that you have to juggle for 5mins whilst rapping about vegan food, in order to get served..no, I lied. That would be silly. 3 plates of differing sizes; baby plate = £5.50, mommy plate = £6.50, Big daddy plate = £8.90 for as much as you can eat. The Big Daddy would be like a red rag to a bull and I would have gone mental eating it all so I opted for the middle one (ooh, it’s like Goldilocks..except I’m brunette and it ain’t porridge).

If you are vegan/vegetarian, macrobiotic, gluten-free, celiac or coeliac (seems there are two ways to spell it in US or UK), sugar-free, low-fat or just plan HUNGRY, Vitao promise to be your go-to restaurant in the heart of Soho. So I grabbed a plate and set about discovering if it is true. If you have a food intolerance then please do check with them. The noodles, seitan & soy sauce are not gluten-free.

I pretty much filled up my plate. Unfortunately the waiter could tell me the names for any of the dishes, and I cannot remember all of the 10 or so I filled my plate with, but there were lots of colourful raw salads with tasty dressings, steamed broccoli, curries, stews, veggie rices and potato & cauliflower bakes. ALL of them were bursting with flavour and each dish highly individual. Only one dish didn’t really float my ship and that was the Chinese mushroom stew, purely because the texture of the mushrooms was a bit weird/slimy….IMHO. The tofu and spinach stew and the carrot salads were my current favourites.

Dessert was not on the cards for me this time, as I have been baking at home so much I thought I’d better reign it in for a while. They had a range of vegan desserts and cakes on the counter that looked very comely! I devoured a raw apple pie here last year and it was sensational (though not as good as my homemade raw apple pie - I know, not very British of me to boast but someone has got to blow my trumpet in the vast orchestra of online vegan foodies).

They also serve a huge range of vegan milked based drinks, juices & smoothies, herbal teas and just plain, honest to goodness, water. I noticed, they used to use all organic eco-friendly toiletries in the loos and I was a little disappointed that this was not the case on this visit.

I think Vitao would be equally great for a bunch of friends or just comfy by yourself watching the world go by.

Homemade Raw Apple Pie - ambrosial, gluten free, vegan. A runway model of desserts!

August 11, 2011 by India Leigh

You will never believe how easy this is…

or healthy and indulgent (words not widely known as natural bedfellows..but think again).

I posted a recipe I found on Youtube a month or so ago by Organic Avenue after it caught my eye. I’d tried Raw Apple Pie in several restaurants (the best I discovered was in Soho) before also but I wanted to bring together all of the best bits of them and make my own in in a fraction of the cost.

HOMEMADE RAW APPLE PIE

I tested it out at a party I threw yesterday..

there was not a veggie/vegan raw foodist in sight BUT they ALL said hands down this was the BEST DESSERT and if I hand a £$ for every wide-eyed look of surprise and ascending eyebrow…I’d be a richer woman today! I raced through my yoga this morning so I could have the last morsel for my breakfast.

here is how I cracked it…

THE BASE

1 cup mixed nuts and seeds (only £1.99 a bag - pine, pumpkin, sunflower and wal..nuts with sultanas) - you can use any combo you have
1 cup coconut flour
5 dates

1/2 cup low gi fruit syrup or maple
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

2 tbs ground almonds (or any nuts) to line bottom of cake pan and prevent sticking

THE FILLING

5 dessert apples - cored - grate all but one half
1 tbs raisins - soaked and drained)
1 1/2 tsp coconut oil
1/2 juice of lemon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla

1. Use a cake tin with the drop through bottom. sprinkle the almond flour evenly

2. add all of the base ingredients into a food processor and mix until it comes together and forms a ball.
3.pat the mix down into your cake tin forming a pie shell about an inch deep. Pop in fridge

4. grate all but one half of the apples into a mixing bowl with the other filling ingredients and mix with your hands. Leave to marinate for 10 mins and then squeeze out most of the excess liquid (keep this for the next step). Spoon into your pie base.
5. slice your remaining 1/2 apple and give it a quick dip in the excess liquid and then decorate the top of your pie in which ever fantastically arty way you feel best..here is my effort..dust with cinnamon..ooh a cinnamon stick on the top would look nice..(I did not have one, but you might)

Chill the pie for a while or serve straight away to hungry pals. Soak up the adoration and praise whilst you fork the nutty, buttery, sweet, soft, crisp, fresh, delicious, toothsome pie into your mouth before abandoning the fork and doing what it really calls for and using your bare hands to finish it off, just so you can lick your fingers..already reminiscing at its wondrous flavours and wondering how the Dickens the base manages to taste like rich, buttery flaky pastry.

Now for some more gastronomic RAW APPLE PIE porn

Floating on a gluten free sponge in Cupcake Heaven!

August 9, 2011 by India Leigh

I didn’t get it..before..the fascination with cupcakes. Yes, my heart would flutter at the sight of a delicate, girlie creation with sparkles and flowers and elegant swirls, but was left wanting once I bit into them. They were beautiful but they didn’t set my pulse racing or render me speechless. I felt a freak…’what’s wrong with me’, I cried at my failure to succumb to the sugar sweet crumb.

I tried tea shops and markets when exploring London. But when I sunk in my teeth all hope I near abandoned. On I plunged on my journey and stepped into tea shop and bakery….the artistic shells trussed up in their fakery. Am I missing a taste bud, shall I never declare…’oh that cupcake is divine..someone get me a chair!’?

I had almost given up my plight and resigned myself to give my heart to my fudgey, bastions of gorgeousness, black bean brownies instead…. but a little voice squealed in the back of my head ‘don’t give up on your search just yet, your dear longing will surely be met’.

Then one Sunday I chanced by a Twitter and read tales of a lass that gave a glimmer of hope that did glitter. I sought out her website and of a 100 (a slight exaggeration) flavours she wrote. All oh them lovely and floatin’ ma boat!

We chatted a bit on Facebook, and do you know, she was such a kind sweet heart I decided to ‘give it a go’. I put in my order of sugar and gluten free and she swiftly sent out, as helpful as can be, a trio of cake pods to try and tempt me.

The postie this morning delivered the booty and I danced with glee round the kitchen shakin’ ma booty! The sponge was light and crumbly too, the chocolate ganache had a satisfying goo, the tiny raspberries were bursting with flavour and it melted on my tongue a darling sweetness to savour. It is heart fluttery love and now I want to order every flavour!

I vote Hannah Banana #1 BEST CUPCAKE IN THE UK!

Sorry, I just came over all poetic. Hannah Banana’s cupcakes are AMAZING (gooey, moist, not too sweet - no sugar rush - delectable, yummy, sublime, feastable, giggalicious)! Hannah Banana caters for the (oh so Special) diets; Gluten free, sugar free, vegan. She has a bakery you can visit (it’s on my list…can’t wait to take a little trip to Southampton) and mail order too.

Oh my goodness, I now, finally ‘get the cupcake thing’. Hannah, I am blowing you kisses. Thank you for your baking and sweetness. x

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