A veganised recipe for an old favourite; Alfredo Sauce. With mushrooms!
1 tbsp butter
3/4 cup mushrooms, chopped or diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp cornflour (corn starch)
1/2 cup soy milk
1 tbsp vegan parmesan
Chopped parsley
Salt
Pepper
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
Add mushrooms and simmer for a minute until mushrooms start to soften.
Add garlic and simmer for another minute, stirring constantly to stop garlic from burning.
Add cornflour and stir until no large lumps remain.
Pour in soy milk slowly, stirring as you do.
Keep stirring, sauce should start to thicken. If it thickens too much, add more milk until it is the desired consistency.
Add parmesan and stir. You can add more/less to taste.
Just before serving, stir in parsley, salt and pepper to taste.
Notes:
-Great on pasta, or toasted ciabatta bread.
-Mushroom step can be removed if you don't like them; it still makes a good sauce.
Tuesday 26 April 2011
Thursday 21 April 2011
New Products
I always get a bit giddy when I find a new vegan product to try. Today was no exception when I stumbled across some Vegan Parmesan and Vegan Worcestershire Sauce. I already knew the sauce existed, I just hadn't got around to trying it. But the parmesan was new to me. I've yet to use it, but I did open it up and have a nosey, and it looks like it's going to be good. Smells like cheese, anyway.
Tomorrow, I will be making a spaghetti bolognese with both ingredients in. If it's successful, I'll post the recipe. I'm excited!
Both available at: http://www.mhfoods.net/sl.html
Tomorrow, I will be making a spaghetti bolognese with both ingredients in. If it's successful, I'll post the recipe. I'm excited!
Both available at: http://www.mhfoods.net/sl.html
Wednesday 20 April 2011
Pancakes!
Picture the scene; it's nearly midnight, I'm having a cooking show marathon whilst tucked up in bed, when I suddenly get the most intense craving for pancakes. And not the thick American-style ones I've grown accustomed to (as that's the only kind I've found decent vegan recipes for). Rather, I'm craving the beautiful, fluffy, thin, British ones like my mum used to make (and like I used to, before the dairy and egg embargo). Back in my lacto-ovo days, I was known in my household as the queen of pancakes. I got to wondering why exactly I should retire just because I no longer ate two of the key ingredients of my infamous recipe. Surely, if I was truly a pancake deity of some sort, then I would be able to create a vegan-friendly recipe that was easy to make and tasted fantastic. Or at least find one online.
A quick search, however, only seemed to deliver results that included mashed bananas and egg replacer and other ingredients I did not have in my cupboards. I realised two things; that I needed to go shopping, and that if I really wanted those pancakes I'd have to make the recipe up. So I did the latter first, using only the ingredients I had lying around, and put off the former until tomorrow. And what I ended up with was a recipe that turned out the perfect British pancakes. Makes around 6-8.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp rapeseed (canola) oil
2 tbsp sugar
Soymilk
Water
Mix together flour, baking powder and sugar, preferably in a jug.
Add canola oil to the dry ingredients and stir in.
Begin adding soy milk, starting with about 1/2 a cup and increasing the amount as you mix it in. Stop just before it's a good pancake consistency; when it's roughly the consistency of a thin yoghurt.
Add a splash of cold tap water and mix in.
Heat a frying pan (mine's about 6" in diameter) on the hob until it's warm, add a little vegetable fat if it's not non-stick and wait until that's melted.
Pour in pancake batter (this is where the jug is useful) and spread around the pan. Flip it over when the top is no longer liquid; it should be a nice golden-brown on the bottom. If it's not, you can always flip it back over.
Best served with sugar and lemon.
Notes:
-The measurements for the ingredients are approximate; I threw everything together without measuring properly.
-Don't let the pan get too hot. The pancakes end up with weird, thin, curly sides if it does. They taste just fine, it just looks a little odd and makes it harder to flip 'em. This is not a vegan-pancake-exclusive problem.
-Damn, I love pancakes.
A quick search, however, only seemed to deliver results that included mashed bananas and egg replacer and other ingredients I did not have in my cupboards. I realised two things; that I needed to go shopping, and that if I really wanted those pancakes I'd have to make the recipe up. So I did the latter first, using only the ingredients I had lying around, and put off the former until tomorrow. And what I ended up with was a recipe that turned out the perfect British pancakes. Makes around 6-8.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp rapeseed (canola) oil
2 tbsp sugar
Soymilk
Water
Mix together flour, baking powder and sugar, preferably in a jug.
Add canola oil to the dry ingredients and stir in.
Begin adding soy milk, starting with about 1/2 a cup and increasing the amount as you mix it in. Stop just before it's a good pancake consistency; when it's roughly the consistency of a thin yoghurt.
Add a splash of cold tap water and mix in.
Heat a frying pan (mine's about 6" in diameter) on the hob until it's warm, add a little vegetable fat if it's not non-stick and wait until that's melted.
Pour in pancake batter (this is where the jug is useful) and spread around the pan. Flip it over when the top is no longer liquid; it should be a nice golden-brown on the bottom. If it's not, you can always flip it back over.
Best served with sugar and lemon.
Notes:
-The measurements for the ingredients are approximate; I threw everything together without measuring properly.
-Don't let the pan get too hot. The pancakes end up with weird, thin, curly sides if it does. They taste just fine, it just looks a little odd and makes it harder to flip 'em. This is not a vegan-pancake-exclusive problem.
-Damn, I love pancakes.
Sunday 17 April 2011
The Feisty Red
One thing I like to do is drink. Anyone who is not of legal drinking age in their country, look away now. Just stop reading. Close your eyes and navigate away from the page. In that order.
Are you gone?
Good.
As I said, I enjoy a nice drink every now and then. And as it's getting warmer up north (I know, who'd have thought it?), I've resumed making cocktails. They're just perfect for the summer, and I like to think they count as one of your five-a-day.* So without further delay, here's my recipe for the Feisty Red.
1 shot vodka
1 shot grenadine
1 shot tequila
3 strawberries, tops cut off, plus another for decoration.
Apple cider
Cherryade
Blend/crush the strawberries so they form a paste.
Add to the paste the grenadine, vodka and tequila.
Mix well in a cocktail shaker.
Pour into a glass.
Fill glass halfway with cider.
Top up with cherryade.
Add strawberry to the rim of the glass for decoration. Also doubles up as a tasty post-cocktail snack.
Notes:
-Measurements for alcohol don't have to be exact; I tend to just chuck the stuff in.
-If you can't get hold of grenadine, cherry liqueur will do the job.
-Experiment with the ciders; try it with a pear or berry cider, or mess with the strengths. I prefer a fairly sweet apple cider with a low alcohol content for this particular cocktail. If you're thinking of using strongbow, GTFO.
-If it's a REALLY hot day and you want some ice, either freeze some cherryade or cut up a pink freezepop to add to your cocktail.
*This should be closer to nine-a-day, but nobody understands what I mean when I say that.
P.S. Pictures of all my recipes will be added over the course of the summer, when I have access to a good camera that actually uploads stuff. At the moment, my camera refuses to connect to anything, and my phone camera doesn't exactly show things in the best light (as in, everything looks blue).
Are you gone?
Good.
As I said, I enjoy a nice drink every now and then. And as it's getting warmer up north (I know, who'd have thought it?), I've resumed making cocktails. They're just perfect for the summer, and I like to think they count as one of your five-a-day.* So without further delay, here's my recipe for the Feisty Red.
1 shot vodka
1 shot grenadine
1 shot tequila
3 strawberries, tops cut off, plus another for decoration.
Apple cider
Cherryade
Blend/crush the strawberries so they form a paste.
Add to the paste the grenadine, vodka and tequila.
Mix well in a cocktail shaker.
Pour into a glass.
Fill glass halfway with cider.
Top up with cherryade.
Add strawberry to the rim of the glass for decoration. Also doubles up as a tasty post-cocktail snack.
Notes:
-Measurements for alcohol don't have to be exact; I tend to just chuck the stuff in.
-If you can't get hold of grenadine, cherry liqueur will do the job.
-Experiment with the ciders; try it with a pear or berry cider, or mess with the strengths. I prefer a fairly sweet apple cider with a low alcohol content for this particular cocktail. If you're thinking of using strongbow, GTFO.
-If it's a REALLY hot day and you want some ice, either freeze some cherryade or cut up a pink freezepop to add to your cocktail.
*This should be closer to nine-a-day, but nobody understands what I mean when I say that.
P.S. Pictures of all my recipes will be added over the course of the summer, when I have access to a good camera that actually uploads stuff. At the moment, my camera refuses to connect to anything, and my phone camera doesn't exactly show things in the best light (as in, everything looks blue).
Thursday 14 April 2011
VegNews, MeatPics.
Yesterday, QuarryGirl posted an article on her blog about the vegan magazine/ezine VegNews. A little bit of digging had unearthed an unsettling trend; many of the photos displayed on the website and in print were seemingly stockpiled photographs of dishes containing meat, dairy and eggs.
This in itself is a little odd for a vegan publication, particularly one with a reasonable following. We could debate the ethics of a vegan publication using meat pictures for hours. However, I understand that in business, everyone cuts corners here and there to save a bit of money. It's how business works. What's not right, in my mind, is the unethical and unprofessional way in which they handled themselves when doing it. Firstly, none of the stockpiled photographs were credited, despite being used for proper publications. Copyright infringement. Secondly, when called out on it, VegNews' initial response was to delete all publicly made comments about the mistakes that they could access, and ignore all direct contact. Childish and unprofessional. Thirdly, when you take into account that the photographs used were not of the recipes they were printed alongside, you have to wonder if the recipes were even tested, and how difficult it would have been to take a few amateur shots if they were. All their actions seem to suggest that they were wilfully using the pictures and taking every precaution to hide it.
Unfortunately, in the age of the internet, nothing is secret for long. I was never a subscriber to VegNews, but now, I don't think I ever will be.
QG's Article
This in itself is a little odd for a vegan publication, particularly one with a reasonable following. We could debate the ethics of a vegan publication using meat pictures for hours. However, I understand that in business, everyone cuts corners here and there to save a bit of money. It's how business works. What's not right, in my mind, is the unethical and unprofessional way in which they handled themselves when doing it. Firstly, none of the stockpiled photographs were credited, despite being used for proper publications. Copyright infringement. Secondly, when called out on it, VegNews' initial response was to delete all publicly made comments about the mistakes that they could access, and ignore all direct contact. Childish and unprofessional. Thirdly, when you take into account that the photographs used were not of the recipes they were printed alongside, you have to wonder if the recipes were even tested, and how difficult it would have been to take a few amateur shots if they were. All their actions seem to suggest that they were wilfully using the pictures and taking every precaution to hide it.
Unfortunately, in the age of the internet, nothing is secret for long. I was never a subscriber to VegNews, but now, I don't think I ever will be.
QG's Article
Monday 4 April 2011
The Healthy Cake
As promised, the healthy cake recipe. Three versions of the cake were made in the cookery demonstration, I'm posting the one that came out the best with my own adjustments. Bear in mind, this makes a pretty big cake.
1.5 cups wholemeal flour
3/4 cup soy yogurt - plain works well, but I found it better with an apple flavoured one
2 tsp agave syrup
1/4 cup rice milk
Whole bar dark chocolate, grated
One apple, de-cored and grated
One courgette (zucchini), grated
One red pepper, grated
1/2 cup brazil nuts
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Lemon zest (optional)
2 tsp Cinnamon (optional)
Mix together flour, chocolate, fruit, vegetables and nuts.
Add yogurt, syrup and milk, and blend until the mixture is slightly thicker than a normal cake mixture. If it is too firm, add a touch more rice milk. It needs to be slightly thicker, because the fruit and the vegetables will release moisture when baked, softening the cake.
Add cinnamon and lemon zest if required - I like it best with the cinnamon, but without the zest. Gives it a nice kick.
Bake in the oven for about 20 mins on 180, or until cakey.
Allow to cool (if you can wait, it's pretty tasty warm).
Notes:
-Cranberries can be substituted for red cabbage
-Nuts are interchangeable; cashews work well too, or use your favourites. If you're allergic to nuts, take them out of the recipe and reduce the amount of soy yogurt slightly.
-I haven't tried this yet, but I bet a mashed up banana or two would go quite nicely in place of 1/4 cup soy yogurt.
-Try different types of dark chocolate; some with orange, or hemp seeds, for example.
1.5 cups wholemeal flour
3/4 cup soy yogurt - plain works well, but I found it better with an apple flavoured one
2 tsp agave syrup
1/4 cup rice milk
Whole bar dark chocolate, grated
One apple, de-cored and grated
One courgette (zucchini), grated
One red pepper, grated
1/2 cup brazil nuts
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Lemon zest (optional)
2 tsp Cinnamon (optional)
Mix together flour, chocolate, fruit, vegetables and nuts.
Add yogurt, syrup and milk, and blend until the mixture is slightly thicker than a normal cake mixture. If it is too firm, add a touch more rice milk. It needs to be slightly thicker, because the fruit and the vegetables will release moisture when baked, softening the cake.
Add cinnamon and lemon zest if required - I like it best with the cinnamon, but without the zest. Gives it a nice kick.
Bake in the oven for about 20 mins on 180, or until cakey.
Allow to cool (if you can wait, it's pretty tasty warm).
Notes:
-Cranberries can be substituted for red cabbage
-Nuts are interchangeable; cashews work well too, or use your favourites. If you're allergic to nuts, take them out of the recipe and reduce the amount of soy yogurt slightly.
-I haven't tried this yet, but I bet a mashed up banana or two would go quite nicely in place of 1/4 cup soy yogurt.
-Try different types of dark chocolate; some with orange, or hemp seeds, for example.
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