Sunday 21 February 2010

Illustrated Recipe- Fridge Cake

Live cooking action photos by Jay!

You will need...

8oz vegan digestive biscuits(I use Morrisons' Value ones)
4oz vegan margarine
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp cocoa
1 heaped tbsp syrup
2 bars of plain chocolate
dried fruits and nuts of your choice(optional)

Crush the biscuits into crumbsMelt the marge, sugar, cocoa and syrup in a pan. Now add the biscuits to the melted mixture
Now press into a sandwich tin then put into fridge to set (should only take 20 mins)
Melt the chocolate bar over a bain marie(or a makeshift bain marie using a pan and a pyrex dish like I did!)Spread melted chocolate with optional added fruit or nuts (I used almonds and dried cherries) over the biscuit mixtureNow press more nuts, like these walnuts, on to to garnish if desired, then ut back in fridge to set

...Voila, you have a fridge cake! Slice into pieces and serve!

Chocolate Chilli Recipe (as brought to potluck)

(serves 2-4)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, sliced

1-2 cloves garlic, crushed

75g textured vegetable protein OR vegemince

1 ts yeast extract(eg, marmite, vegemite or equivalent)

1 can chopped tomatoes

2tbsp tomato puree

1 tin red kidney beans, drained

3/4- 1 1/2 heaped tsp chilli flakes(to taste)

1-2 squares high cocoa content(minimum 70% cocoa, the higher the better!) dark chocolate

optional vegetables (you could use chopped mushrooms, jalapeno peppers(sparingly! They're hot, so cut the chilli powder content!) or bell peppers)

Top Tip!- if someone you’re cooking for is a spice wimp and doesn't like their chilli quite so burn-the-roof-of-mouth-and-make-eyes-water hot as the others, the solution to this, is to move their milder portion of the chilli to a seperate pot once you've cooked it, then add extra spice to the other pot, then let simmer separately. Just remember which one’s which!

-saute onion and garlic (and vegetables if using) in olive oil until transparent

-add tin of chopped tomatoes, vegetable protein, kidney beans, tomato puree, stock, chilli flakes, yeast extract, and chocolate, and bring to the boil, simmer for 15 mins and serve!

~ideal served with rice, tortillas or other grains~

~alternatively, omit tvp and use a drained can of chickpeas or other beans, to make a bean chilli~

Tuesday 2 February 2010

Honest Scrap!

I've been nominated for an honest scrap award by Penny at Scottish Vegan Homemaker and DJ at Skint Vegan- so thank you both!

The rules of the award are simple:
1) Thank the lovely person who has nominated you and link back to them. Thanks again both of you! :)
2) Tell your readers 10 honest things about yourself.
3) Link to other blogs you feel embody the spirit of Honest Scrap and whose blog you find brilliant in design and/or concept.

So here's my honest scrap.

1- Pink Wafers are my latest food addiction! I've just discovered some of them are vegan(I'd always assumed they contained milk) so I'm making up for lost time, and am shovelling into some as I type!

2- I'm trying to grow my hair for my wedding(and to enjoy after it as well!), and as long as it looks nice and healthy, I'd like to get it down to my waist. Much easier and lazier than that traditional bride-to-be ritual of going on a diet and having a goal weight!

3- When I go shopping I tend to tidy things up- must be because I'm frustrated at people leaving stuff in a mess at their backside at work!

4- Hubby-to-be Jay is my toyboy at just 27- I'm 30 this September. And I do not feel nearly that old!

5- I love gently massaging Fudge the cat's front paws, and he loves having them massaged and puts them in my lap to be done! This makes Jay jealous as he also loves receiving foot and hand massages and asks if he'd get his done more often if they were covered in fur and he purred!

6- Despite being a vegan, I love all things vampire-related, from Buffy to Twilight to Anne Rice, and I watched Count Duckula, the Vegetarian Vampire duck when I was a kid! I'm currently reading the Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries series by Charlaine Harris(which the True Blood TV series was based on). I like werewolves too!

7- I honestly never imagined myself getting married- always thought I'd end up a crazy cat lady spinster type!

8- I have lots of things in the cupboard that I've bought for trying out a complex recipe I've read somewhere, and never got round to doing yet. I usually manage to squeeze in the recipe just before it's due to go past it's sell-by date!

9- My handbag carries a lot of nonsense, from a variety of medicines to an umbrella to a book currently being read and sometimes if I'm near the end, the next one in case I finish the first one before I get home, but I'm not taking anything out and making it lighter because I carry all these things "just in case" and if I do, I'll probably regret it!

10- I have a great memory for trivia and can often answer obscure questions on game shows etc, but anything important I'll probably forget!

My nominations are

Darmok The Green -

Kitchen Dancing -

Skint Vegan -

Scottish Vegan Homemaker-

Half Pint Pixie-

Two Vegan Boys
-