starters Archives - A Vegan Obsession

The Whiff Of Spring. A Recipe

March 12, 2014 by India Leigh 7 Comments

A few days of mild weather and I’m grasping onto the promise of spring.

I’ve been living the life of a country girl for the past few weeks. Bundled up with a brindle haired lurcher with the sweetest temperament, and a moody cat as my companions. Frequently the cat is all sweetness and light, brushing up against my leg and purring softly (I admit to taking my time dosing out her breakfast as she does!), or settling on the back on my chair with her left paw gently resting on my head. Lulled into a false sense of security I never see it coming when she momentarily turns, unprovoked like a feisty Jack Russell and takes to the biting of my ankles. Sometimes even taking to hissing at me. Charming! Thankfully, the dog is a constant joy. My walking partner, as we headed out each morning with the mists rising.

The weather turned last week. As the numbers on the conservatory temperature gauge rose I actually got to walk without being bundled in layers, and numerous scarves wrapped around my neck like a supporting brace. Oh, the freedom.

The lack of sun and too many weeks of living off stodge, I’m now screaming for crispy salads. Piles of green leaves. Yellow and purple beets shining like jewels. Sweet, juicy tomatoes warm from the sun. I began to dream of salads. Picturing the different ways I could prepare them. I do try and eat in season. But I felt a little thrill at the thought of eating fresh, young asparagus and salivated at the idea of roasted beets and blackberries. I had to give in to some out of season cravings.

I have wanted to make this flavoursome dish since I was visiting San Francisco in January. As you know, I am constantly on the look out for new products. Whilst my eyes were scanning the gorgeous floor to roof displays in the uber hip Bi-Rite deli near Dolores Park I noticed a plate of dressed chicory leaves. Fresh boats of gold and green. Scattered amid sautéed greens and smashed garlic were dehydrated capers. I furtively glanced around (I’m not used to finding food samples among rows of honeyed olive oils and baskets of broccoli head) before I scooped up a generously stuffed chicory leaf and took a bite. The nutty oil, the garlicky greens were simply prepared. Simple and delicious. The cool, crisp chicory, with a hint of bitterness, divine. But what brought it all together was the flavours of the crisp, salty capers.

It was a few bites of flavours so good. I had to recreate at the earliest opportunity. It is a breeze to make. Just a little pre preparation involved. And only a few simple ingredients. Lovely as an appetiser or add a green salad and a generous pile of asparagus to make it more substantial as a light dinner.

Caper Berry Salad

Recipe for 4 persons.

Ingredients

1/4 cup capers in brine - drained and well rinsed

2 chicory bulbs

1 bag (200g) Baby spinach leaves

Your favourite extra virgin olive oil - enough for drizzling and a little for sautéing

1/4 cup walnut pieces

2 garlic good sized cloves

sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

A generous bunch of baby asparagus

Method

I used the warming cupboard of the Aga to dehydrate the rinsed capers for a few hours. You could use your oven on the lowest setting for several hours for the same results. Remove from the heat when they have transformed into little crispy nuggets of saltiness. Make extra and use them on salads, atop stews and soups or even simply scattered on a halved avocado.

Cut the chicory leaves from the bulb and place on your serving plate.

Add a little EVOO to a pan and drop in your chopped garlic. Fry briefly and then add the spinach. As it is mostly water it will cook down quickly. Stir to ensure the spinach and garlic mingle. Be sure not to let the garlic burn. Leave to cool slightly.

Bash your walnuts into tiny chips.

Divide the spinach among the leaves of chicory. It is a bit of a balancing act! Drop over the walnut pieces. Drizzle with your best oil. Sow the dried capers like seeds, and with a final flourish, season to taste. Serve with a light squeeze of lemon and accompany with baby asparagus. Cooked briefly in olive or walnut oil with as much fresh black pepper as you can stand.

Have you found any interesting and unusual ingredients lately?

The Whiff Of Spring. A Recipe

Caper Berry Salad Recipe for 4 persons.

Author: India Leigh

Recipe type: Appetizer

Cuisine: Vegan, gluten free, salad

Ingredients

¼ cup capers in brine -
drained and well rinsed
2 chicory bulbs
1 bag (200g) Baby spinach leaves
Your favourite extra virgin olive oil - enough for drizzling and a little for sautéing
¼ cup walnut pieces
2 garlic good sized cloves
sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
A generous bunch of baby asparagus

Instructions

I used the warming cupboard of the A
ga to dehydrate the rinsed capers for a few hours. You could use your oven on the lowest setting for several hours for the same results. Remove from the heat when they have transformed into little crispy nuggets of saltiness. Make extra and use them on salads, atop stews and soups or even simply
scattered
on a halved avocado.
Cut the chicory leaves from the bulb and place on your serving plate.
Add a little EVOO to a pan and drop in your chopped garlic. Fry briefly and then add the spinach. As it is mostly water it will cook down quickly. Stir to ensure the spinach and garlic mingle. Be sure not to let the garlic burn. Leave to cool slightly.
Bash your walnuts into tiny chips.
Divide the spinach among the leaves of chicory. It is a bit of a balancing act! Drop over the walnut pieces. Drizzle with your best oil. Sow the dried capers like seeds, and with a final flourish, season to taste. Serve with a light squeeze of lemon and accompany with baby asparagus. Cooked briefly in olive or walnut oil with as much fresh black pepper as you can stand.

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Vegan Christmas Recipes Retrospective - Part 3

December 23, 2013 by India Leigh 2 Comments

2013

Looking back, day 3. I don’t even remember writing this post. That starter looks nice! What will you be making?

Click for Parts 1 & 2.

2012

I wish I had £10 for every time I heard Mariah Carey sing ‘All I Want For Christmas’….I’d be stockpiling a small fortune by now! Hey, ho… ho ho!

Did you check out Xmas Part 1 & 2? Hope so..if not, there is always time.. click here for Part 1 and Part 2, right here

To keep with the ‘healthy but feasty’ theme I thought a light , but flavoursome, salad would be a good choice for the Christmas Day starter. Do you agree? I can’t help feeling a little nostalgic at Christmas. Reminiscing about some retro dish from my childhood (it’s all those bloody old Christmas songs filling the airways and catapulting me back to Christmas past). I’ve been recalling the days when a crouton was ‘posh’ food and me ma would serve everything deep fried and breaded, to showcase her culinary mastery. Us little’ns would see a few cubes of oily breadcrumbs on top of the Maryrose sauce and think we’d skipped up to the Upper Classes. Our pinkies would flick up from our cutlery in reverence, and an attempt to eat like stereotypical posh people. (cough) I think I must have had a case of invented memory syndrome because I cannot possibly be old enough to remember when prawn cocktail was in its heyday! So, with that in mind, and looking to what is seasonal I racked my brain for the perfect Christmas starter……and my inspired dish for Christmas day starter is to be……

Balsamic PEAR Salad With Deep Fried Cheese Croutons With Mustard Dressing and Leaves.

Recipe Serves 4

3 large conference pears
2 tbs balsamic glaze
1 tbs vegan butter & 1 tbs sesame oil for frying
salt & pepper

deep fried cheese
vegan hard cheese recipe here to make your own
4 tbs breadcrumbs
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbs tapioca flour & water to make paste or use egg replacer
salt & pepper
oil for deep frying

dressing (can be made ahead of time)
3 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs olive oil (walnut oil would be lovely too I think)
2 tsp brown rice syrup (or agave, maple or similar)

organic salad leaves to serve

Method

1.carefully peel your pears and cut into quarters lengthwise. 2. heat oil and butter in a pan and fry the pears until they are crackling and starting to caramelise. 3. season and spoon over the balsamic glaze, cook for a further 3-4 minutes. 4. whilst they are cooking away nicely grab all your dressing ingredients and mix them in a jar. Set aside 5. to make the cheese crouton like things (sorry, it’s dark and cold here, not feeling very inspirational to come up with a fitting title) take an apple corer and cut out 3 cones for each person. Roll them in the tapioca paste then roll….gently now….in the breadcrumbs. 6. fry in the oil..careful!…until golden. Drain and them put all your elements together. Finally, get all cheffy and drizzle over the Dijon dressing. Let the feasting fun commence!

I’m hoping to extend the Christmas Feasting series to Part 4 and share some additional desserts and party food….if time allows.

Aubergine Walnut Rouleaux with Wild Blackberry, Mustard Vinaigrette

September 13, 2013 by India Leigh 18 Comments

I’m going to rave about this recipe! If you make it, you will too. Promise.

It is so, so good. Have you ever danced around the kitchen with a dish you’ve just made? No, me neither.

It is now marching on to Day 13 of Vegan MoFo 2013 (it’s a Friday too..eek! but lets forget crazy superstitious nonsense). I wish I’d participated in Vegan MoFo before. I love it. Not just making the food, but the event creates such a lovely community. It is great to visit some of other blogs everyday and see what they are up to. I am amazed at some of the dishes they are creating.

Today’s dish was inspired by my travels in Berlin, and a friend, who turned up in a rain shower, on my doorstep, with his wet and panting Border Collie, to present me with a big bowl of freshly picked, glossy black berries. He is one of those friends that seems to have a canny knack of knowing just what I need before I do, and makes sure I get it. So grateful.

Aubergine Walnut Rouleaux (Rolls) with Wild Blackberry, Mustard Vinaigrette

makes about 10-12 rolls

1 large aubergine (eggplant)

Wild Blackberry, Mustard Vinaigrette

1 cup fresh blackberry juice

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

1 tbs agave syrup

2 tbs rapeseed oil or extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp gluten free wholegrain mustard

Himalayan (or sea) salt & cracked black pepper to taste

wash and blend the blackberries, strain. pour juice into a jar.

add all the remaining ingredients. mix.

Creamy walnut filling

1 cup of walnuts soaked over night (makes them far easier to digest)

1/2 block (175g) firm silken tofu (if you don’t eat soy then you can probably sub with plain, unsweetened almond yogurt that has been left to drain on some muslin)

1 tsp ground coriander

1 garlic clove

salt & cracked black pepper to taste

pop all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

slice the aubergine 1/2 cm thick. Rub over with a little salt. They soak up so much oil so I poured a little oil on a board, mixed with some water and then take the slices and brush both sides on the board. drop a tbs of oil into a pan and then use some kitchen towel to help coat the pan. THEN heat (not before, you’ll burn your fingers) the pan and place the slices and fry until golden brown.

When the slices have cooled enough for you to hold them, take a spoon of the filling and roll up the aubergine. Repeat for all of your slices. On your serving dish, spoon over a line of the vinaigrette and gently place the rouleaux onto it.

chilli flakes & paprika for dusting

Serve with fresh organic green beans. Quick blanched in a little boiling water. About 3 mins. Rinse in cold water to halt the cooking process and retain colour.

See you tomorrow! x

Kind Caviar?! - Product Review. Recipe.

April 22, 2013 by India Leigh 1 Comment

Today I bring you plant-based Caviar! Read on. You are going to be amazed. Truth.

I am beginning to realise that there isn’t any animal/fish food product a vegan can’t recreate. The very nature of the belief system and a solution focussed attitude is making it easy for people with a meat diet to embrace plant-based food. I find it endlessly fascinating. A product not just for vegans/pescatarians but for anyone who cares about their health, the planet and anyone who loves food.

This insanely creative vegan faux caviar. Texture and decadence of caviar but it is made from seaweed.

Jens Moller, a Danish … was working on a science project to demonstrate to his children how seaweed can capture enzymes. To his dismay, his experiment failed but small beads formed and the water turned red. It wasn’t until weeks later that a lightbulb moment made him realise the beads looked and behaved like caviar. It took him several years of tinkering before Jens had a product he could finally patent and sell. Sold widely in Europe and now in the US by Plant Based Foods

Cavi-Art is a plant based product that looks like traditional caviar. The company offer 5 vegan flavours. Black (made to emulate Beluga), Orange Red, Yellow, Wasabi, Salmon It has a multitude of benefits. Here is a list;

It’s a fraction of the price of traditional caviar.
It is cholesterol-free. Packed with health enhancing micro-nutrients. Seaweed has been used for centuries by the Japanese to increase health and longevity.
It has a very low fat and salt content.
It has a LONG shelf-life. Keeps in the fridge after opening for 3 months. But you’ll eat it all up before then anyhow.
Environmentally friendly. Sustainable.
Fish kind. The extraction of caviar (eggs taken from the body of a fish) is a horrible and cruel process. Google it!
It looks beautiful, and effortlessly adds a touch of theatre and glamour to your plate. The texture adds a new dimension to ordinary meals so easily. Fabulous as a garnish. Just open the pot and spoon it over your dish, or mix with vegan sauces. Great for dinner parties. Impressive AND a conversation starter.
Perfect for chefs AND home cooks.
Nutritional info per 100g: 13 kcal, 1-2g protein, 1-2g carbs, 0-1g fat.

Take a look at the website. They have a plentiful supply of recipes.

Ranging from simple to gourmet. I’m trying these soon!

Artichoke leaf with crispy oyster mushroom topped with shallot puree, bernaise sauce and black Cavi-art.
Simple Cavi-Art stuffed nori rolls and avocado cups.
Blinis.
Cavi-art cream.
Steamed asparagus with vegan wasabi creme fraiche.

Recipes devised by a result of collaboration with Suzanne Ericsson & Nina Andersson and some devised by Vegan Chef Tal Ronnen. Author of The Conscious Cook

I whipped up a quick entree using Salmon Cavi-Art. A seaweed party! The pasta (noodles) are made from kelp. They are a wonderful low carb and low fat substitute for flour pasta. One serving: 6 calories. 1g carbs. 0g fat! Wow! I made a plant-based Alfredo Sauce. Click for recipe. Used scissors to snip over some fresh dill and fennel. Then spooned over the salmony pink beads. It was delicious, and so fun. We eat with our eyes too, right?!

It passed the ‘carnivore’ test. I actually witnessed my friend eating it out of jar with a spoon!

Suzanne is the woman behind Plant Based Foods, who brings you Cavi-art in the USA. I asked Suzanne what currently is her favourite way to eat Cavi-Art. She excitedly posted me a picture of her evening meal - Roasted Potatoes & with Melting Mayo and Vegan Salmon Cavi-Art.

“My favorite ways and also easy to make are, mixed with a little Veganaise and either fresh dill, finely chopped onion or chives with avocado or on roasted potatoes. I have attached a picture of what I had for dinner yesterday, I used Vegan Salmon and Yellow Cavi-art, vegan sour cream and chives with the potatoes.”

Have you tried Cavi-art? How do you eat yours? Create community and leave a comment in the box below.

Versatile Rich Tomato Marrakech Relish (no cook)

September 10, 2012 by India Leigh Leave a Comment

No cook Versatile Rich Tomato Marrakech Relish

Don’t run off at the sight of a long ingredients list. Its predominance mostly spices. Simple to prepare and so flavoursome. I promise you’ll be pleased you made it and it really only takes a few minutes. I’m always ridiculously proud when I make something a store would have you think impossible to us mere mortals.

Sometimes I will go into a store or restaurant and experience a recipe so striking that I have to go home and make attempts recreate it. It is a challenge I heartily accept. Nowawdays, I usually push my trolley right on by the shelves stacked with jars of pre made sauces and condiments but last week, a little jar caught my eye and beckoned me hither. A tagine paste. I accepted it’s silent call and grabbed it from lofty height. Automatically, I turned the jar over in my hand and inspected the ingredients. Wow! no unnecessary fillers or scary E numbers. I gave it place among a soft bed of spinach and pushed my trolley onwards. It was a treat! I set about mimicking it.

One of the things I love about cooking is the guess work involved, along with the measuring, sprinkling, mincing, smelling and even in a funny way the annihilation of my clear zen worktops to transform to something akin to a struck bomb, with open jars, splattered liquids amid the perfume of garden herbs. I suspect a failure to take up science and a soul that is caressed by evocative food memories is behind my kitchen puttering.

I cracked this on the second hit. The flavours are lusty and robust. Statisfying in a way that necessitates only a few brimming spoonfuls to satiate.

Ingredients (makes one jar or about a cup full)

1/2 cup soaked sun dried tomatoes (the dry kind and not in oil…if you have the oiled type then omit the sunflower oil part of the recipe)
5 garlic cloves - minced
1/2 red pepper - chopped
1 small shallot - minced
1 roughly chopped red chilli pepper (deseeded if it is a hot number)
1/4 cup roughly chopped sun dried tomato soak water (you may need less or even none at all, depending on the consistency of your tomatoes…your judgement is needed)
1/2 juice of squeezed lemon
2 Tbs finely chopped fresh mint (remove the stalk if it is woody)
1 Tbs finely chopped fresh parsley (remove the stalk it is a bit woody)
2 1/2 tsp cumin powder - I roast seeds and grind them myself so I can enjoy the smoky aroma whilst grinding in my pestle
1 tbs coriander powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground caraway seeds
1 Tbs truffle (or walnut/olive) oil
1 Tbs sunflower oil
1/2 tsp salt (this should be enough but add sparingly according to how salty your sun dried tomatoes were)
grinding of black pepper

Method

1. in a blender, blend the tomatoes with the red pepper to a rough paste.
2. add all the other ingredients and pulse until mix is of a thick, slightly coarse consistency. I love to leave little nibs of garlic, onion, chilli pepper and fresh herbs suspended in the paste. It adds depth and excitement in each spooned bite.
I am slathering it liberally on almost anything at the moment. I cannot get enough. Baked poppadoms are peppered with it, Raw Garlic Bread it loaded with it and veggies are turned scarlet with generous lashings of the stuff. Beans are delicious bathed in it. Avocado, potato….I could go on. I won’t.

I hope you like it as much as I do. You can also try and change up the spices to match an alternative country. Its base could be the foundation for the flavours of Italy, Mexico and Spain too. Add some pickled lime and it could whisk you away on an exotic trip to India.

Please enjoy.

India Leigh x

Raw Sprouted Buckwheat Hummus - Recipe

September 5, 2012 by India Leigh 5 Comments

Raw Sprouted Buckwheat Hummus

I have a friend who calls chickpeas ‘devil food’. The force of her wrath is due to the ‘fall out’ after-effect of the ubiquitous legume. Mindful of this and needful of dip, I hunted around for alternatives. I’d not soaked any almonds so that was out. My stock of pre-cooked black beans were frozen solid. Oh dear, I had nothing to ‘hummus’ but I craved it so!

In a moment of inspiration I grabbed my dish of buckwheat, happily going about its business of sprouting on my windowsill.
I paired it will all the usual ‘hummus’ suspects, and crossed my fingers as I stood and watched it quickly blending into a thick, pale cream.

I slathered it thick on a wedge of sweet potato, hot and steaming, fresh from the oven and eagerly bit into it like an open-faced sandwich. Verdict? It is really rather tasty! Hunger abated and full of delight that my experiment had worked I roasted some cumin and bashed the smoking seeds with a pestle to release the flavours, and the together the two became firm friends.
I then dug around in my cupboard to fish out my mandolin (not the instrumental kind..though that would of been fitting!) and sliced some delicate rounds of beetroot to create an easy starter. More about that after I’ve shared the basic recipe with you.

First, sprouting the buckwheat. Buckwheat is not a grain but a seed, related to the rhubarb family. It is full of amino acids (one of most complete sources on the planet) and is gluten free. It is a ‘healthy’ starch and after soaking in water for 20mins (some say longer but I’ve heard it can spoil quickly), it gives off a gloupy gel like substance that needs to be rinsed vigorously. Once rinsed pop into a sprouter and rinse 3-4 times a day. You should see the little sprout tail emerge after a day or two. Rinse, rinse and rinse again, and then you are ready to turn it into moreish (and Moorish) hummus.

Ingredients
2 cups raw sprouted buckwheat
1 plump clove garlic
1/2 tsp salt (pink preferably)
1/2 lemon juice (2 Tbs)
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar or ume plum seasoning (to lift)
1-2 Tbs tahini (raw if that is your bag) I used 1 Tbs and it was delicious. See what you think.

Method.
1. pop all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Check for seasoning. Is it ok? You may like more lemon or more salt. Try it.

Nutrition (source Food Matters)

Sprouted buckwheat is an amazing food because it tastes like a grain but is actually gluten and wheat free and not a grain at all. It is one of the most complete sources of protein on the planet, containing all eight essential amino acids. This makes it perfect for diabetics and those who want to cut down on their sugary carbohydrates and to balance their blood sugar levels. It is also known to lower high blood pressure.

Sprouted buckwheat also cleanses the colon and alkalizes the body. Buckwheat is a wonderful super food for people who have varicose veins or hardening of the arteries. One of the reasons is that it is full of rutin, which is a compound that is known as a powerful capillary wall strengthener. When veins become weak, blood and fluids accumulate and leak into nearby tissues, which may cause varicose veins or hemorrhoids.

This healing food is also rich in lecithin, making it a wonderful cholesterol balancer because lecithin soaks up “bad” cholesterol and prevents it from being absorbed. Lecithin neutralizes toxins and purifies the lymphatic system, taking some of the load off of the liver. Sprouted buckwheat is also a brain boosting super food. 28% of the brain is actually made up of lecithin. Research suggests that regularly consuming foods rich in lecithin may actually prevent anxiety, depression, brain fog, mental fatigue and generally make the brain sharper and clearer.

Buckwheat is high in iron so it is a good blood builder. It also prevents osteoporosis because of its high boron and calcium levels. Sprouted buckwheat is high in bio-flavonoids and co-enzyme Q10. It contains all of the B vitamins, magnesium, manganese, and selenium, as well as many other health giving compounds.

Wow! AND it makes great hummus. Also, when teamed with mint, fresh raw beets, cumin, lemon oil and my homemade Marrakesh Relish….it is heavenly!

Enjoy!

Be well

India Leigh x

p.s another raw buckwheat recipe you may like caramelised onion tart

p.s.s it is an excellent substitute for oats too. Try it for breakfast.

Bruschetta with Raw Garlic Bread - VEGAN Recipe

September 1, 2012 by India Leigh Leave a Comment

I threw a potluck at my place yesterday. One of my efforts was a pungent, fresh and tasty bruschetta.

Back in my ‘gluten’ days I used to make this simple dish A LOT. The flavours are so vivid when the tomatoes are fresh from the vine. Room temperature, to bring out their sweet, acid fruitiness. When freshly minced garlic, peppery extra virgin olive oil and basil combine with the tomatoes, and a good pinch of rock salt is rubbed between thumb and fingers to freckle over the top..something magical happens. Inhale deeply whilst gently tumbling the ingredients in a bowl with a spoon or fork. It is a sensual, aromatic feast as the acid ‘cooks’ the garlic and the essential oils from the basil are released into the juices from the tomatoes. The ingredients act like a great boy band…individual, unique but together they ROCK!

I decided to try a recipe for Raw Garlic Bread - Russell James. The recipe is complete genius with surprising ingredients like psyllium husk and almond pulp. The bread is raw, living (‘cooked’ via a dehydrator to keep its enzymes intact..an oven on it’s lowest setting could possibly work) spongy and light. It even has a chewy crust, much like a french baguette. I made two changes to the recipe. Omitting the dates and using one clove of garlic, as the cloves I had were ginormous and the tomatoes were laden with garlic too. It turned out quite perfect! Gluten free, low carb. All praise to Russell for a fabulous recipes. It is one I will used again and again.

The topping is simple. Ripe, succulent tomatoes roughly chopped. Fresh, minced garlic and torn organic basil leaves. Salt to taste. The bread acts like a sponge to the salad and it transforms it. It’s chewy, garlicky, fresh, aromatic and perfectly pert.

The raw bread takes 14 hours to dehydrate but it made 4 small loaves and it freezes. The tomato bruschetta takes mere moments.

Nutritional info according to Science Daily

‘researchers found that tomatoes are the biggest source of dietary lycopene; a powerful antioxidant. Tomatoes also contain other protective mechanisms, such as antithrombotic and anti-inflammatory functions. Research has additionally found a relationship between eating tomatoes and a lower risk of certain cancers as well as other conditions, including cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, ultraviolet light-induced skin damage, and cognitive dysfunction’.

Enjoy

x

Spying on Janes Adventures in Dinner - RAW appetiser

April 23, 2012 by India Leigh 15 Comments

Poking around in websites, hunting for clues to the identity and make up of a blogger is one of my pass times. People watching, but indoors, without a glass or cup of something in hand, and actually without any ‘real’ people. Well, of course they are real but a high percentage don’t have a profile picture…just proud pictures of supper, donuts with pink frosting, or a close up of a blender, mid-blend. So I try and build stories about people via their recipe listings or their ‘blog roll’ (does only a British person get the irony in that title?). Mostly, the ‘about me’ tab gives a line or two about the food they like, who they eat it with or make it for, and a bit of back story - pet dog, food persuasion, geographical location. I’ve been spying on Janes Adventures In Dinner she’s Canadian, a mom. She’s about food, she’s about photography, she’s about creative crafting, she’s about ‘giving it a go’ and making life a party. It was my mission to steal (borrow) from her. I had to make sure she didn’t suspect a thing.

The brainchild of this assignment is Amanda Formaro. Amanda from Amandas’ Cookin set up The Secret Recipe Club so she could have some fun and connect with fellow bloggers, and it was 1 year old this month. The number of members have shot up. I love the randomness of of it all. Each month you get assigned (secretly) a food blogger to be your target. It’s very random. Last month I made a Swedish Cake. It is ALWAYS an inspiration. It is usually a challenge….being a vegan n’all! But a welcome one. I spied some great looking onion and feta pizza on Jane’s blog. She was waxing lyrical about it. Here is what I did with it. It’s vegan and, as I’ve just taken delivery of a humming (huge) dehydrator…RAW.

Raw Caramelised Onion on Tomato Flax Bread - totally gluten free!

Ingredients

1 large (tennis ball size or a teensy bit bigger) white onion
4 dates (soft ‘Jasmine’ are perfect, if not soak them for 10 mins in a little hot water)
5 tablespoons Tamari (or coconut amino’s or Braggs liquid amino’s if you are soy free)

Method
1. slice onion into rings (about 1/4 cm thick). Pop into a mixing bowl
2. put the dates (drain them if soaked) in a blender with the amino’s and blend to a paste
3. spoon the paste into the bowl and use your hands to mix the paste into the onion rings so they are all gooey and sticky and covered well. It smells good already at this point!
4. spoon onto a paraflex sheet or baking paper and put into the dehydrator for about 6 hours, until soft.

You will not believe how good these taste. So many uses for them. A big spoon of the sweet and sticky ribbons of onion on top of some mash would be spoonable nirvana (not the band).

Flax crackers

Ingredients
1 tomato
2 sticks celery
1/2 c flax seeds - soak in water for 10 mins
1/2 teaspoon pink salt or sea salt
1/8 teaspoon paprika

Method

1. blend all ingredients but keep back 2 T of the soaked flax seeds and add after the mixture is blended. This makes the chips have another dimension and texture with the bite of the flax seeds dotted around.
2. use a teaspoon to spoon little blobs onto a paraflex sheet, about 1/4 cm thick. Don’t overfill the spoon, it makes for very unruly shapes. Though, admittedly, mine came out in an assortment of sizes and more oval than round. If you have a better way please share it.
3. dehydrate on 115 for 2-3 hours. This is very random and seems to depend on the humidity in your house , if it is raining, if there is cloud cover or if there is an eclipse (exaggerating!), and how much water was in the mix. And I thought using a dehydrator would be an exacting science! When you can lift them off the sheet without squidging them to a brown mess, gently lift them off the paraflex sheet and put them straight onto the mesh for approx 4 hours or until as crispy as a potato chip.

Serve in a bowl. Pile the crackers into the bowl and nestle in a ramekin, spilling over with the gooey, onions. You can also make a little h’ orderves stack with an oily, flavoursome sun-dried tomato and a spoon of the sweet onions between two crackers. The crackers will keep for weeks in an airtight container but let’s face it that would only happen if you forgot you had them. Great for snacking, and AMAZING used as little scoops for cheeszy vegan nacho dip. I like to build a little scoop and then stand up, pop them in my mouth whilst twirling on the spot. Try it. I am sure it improves digestion or something. Probably not best to do this in the office though, unless you get everyone to join in. The Twirling H ‘ordervishes!

Xmas Feasting - PART 3 - Starter - Balsamic Pear Salad with Deep Fried Cheese Croutons (DAIRY-FREE)

December 19, 2011 by India Leigh 1 Comment

I wish I had £10 for every time I heard Mariah Carey sing ‘All I Want For Christmas’….I’d be stockpiling a small fortune by now! Hey, ho… ho ho!

Did you check out Xmas Part 1 & 2? Hope so..if not, there is always time.. click here for Part 1 and Part 2, right here

Balsamic PEAR Salad With Deep Fried Cheese Croutons With Mustard Dressing and Leaves.

Recipe Serves 4

3 large conference pears
2 tbs balsamic glaze
1 tbs vegan butter & 1 tbs sesame oil for frying
salt & pepper

deep fried cheese
vegan hard cheese recipe here to make your own
4 tbs breadcrumbs
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbs tapioca flour & water to make paste or use egg replacer
salt & pepper
oil for deep frying

dressing (can be made ahead of time)
3 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs olive oil (walnut oil would be lovely too I think)
2 tsp brown rice syrup (or agave, maple or similar)

organic salad leaves to serve

Method

I’m hoping to extend the Christmas Feasting series to Part 4 and share some additional desserts and party food….if time allows.

Baked Zucchini Fries with lemon aioli - Gluten free, low fat and crispilicious

December 5, 2011 by India Leigh 29 Comments

Hello! This week I’ve been rushing around, on my bike, on the train, around food festivals, in food markets, around my kitchen experimenting with some delights I will share here soon. Busy, busy! I have also been racking up some time at The Lean Green Bean Its my fifth month with the The Secret Recipe Club and Lindsay’s foodie foray was to be my December assignment. Read about it here to find out what it’s all about (if you can keep a secret).

Lets talk fries….

Crispy garlic Zucchini Fries

These looked so good on Lindsay’s blog I just had to give them a go. There was a teeny bit of tweaking to be done to make these crispy sticks gluten-free and vegan. Traditional recipes of this type use egg to bind the crumb to the object- de-la-legumes so I needed to find the best alternative. I didn’t want to use something out of a box that someone else had produced I wanted to find a vegan ‘egg’ in my cupboards. This website was a big help - all about egg replacements in baking. I used 1 tbs flour (sorghum), 1/2 tsp oil and 2 tbs water to mix to a paste. It worked a treat. Here is what you need for the rest of the recipe

Ingredients

(serves 2)

2 zucchini (courgettes) julienned

2 tbs gluten-free flour (sorghum has a lovely flavour and works perfectly)

1 tbs vegan Parmesan powder or nutritional yeast

1/4 tbs gluten-free bread crumbs

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp paprika (you can also add a pinch of chili powder if you want them fiery)

salt & pepper to taste

method

1.Prepare your station

bowl one - flour & Parmesan

bowl two - egg replacer - (flour, oil and water)

bowl three - breadcrumbs, paprika, garlic powder, baking powder, salt & pepper

2. dip the bald fries into the bowls from 1-3 ensuring they are well covered. 3. gently place on an oiled baking sheet and bake in a pre-heated oven at 220 degrees for 20 mins. Give them a little shake halfway through. 4. serve immediately with lemon aioli (blend tofu, lemon juice and garlic powder or minced garlic clove and season to taste)

Did I enjoy them? A picture speaks a thousand words!

I think I actually like them better than sweet potato fries (speaks my fickle heart) as the texture and flavour are very close to white potato fries…only better AND good for you. The spud being a member of the nightshade family is a no-go area for many. This recipe will be sweet music to their ears.

See, this is what happens when you are a member of The Secret Recipe Club, you stumble across edible gems you might otherwise have missed. Bravo Lindsay. I hope your December SRC was as happy-making as mine.

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