Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category

Generally speaking baking recipes that do not need eggs are pretty easy to veganise. So, whilst this may be a no brainer for some, I though it would be good to put my vegan scone recipe online. They’re so tasty and a great idea for a light lunch, snacks or if you’re feeling a little posh – afternoon tea. This recipe makes about 12. They freeze well so you could double the recipe and pop a bag full in the freezer. Defrost at room temp, then put in the oven for a few minutes to refresh. Like you’ve just baked them.

Topping ideas? Well, I’m pretty boring and tend to use vegan margarine. But jam will work well plus you could whip some vegan cream up…now there’s a thought.

A friend of mine Leah, gave me this recipe. I veganised it simply by using my vegan margarine and soya milk. It’s such a simple cake to make and you can knock it together so quickly. It’s also great as you make it with your hands all in one bowl so there is very little washing up at the end. Small mercies and all that.

I usually gently pat the mixture into a rectangular tin, but other times I have just dolloped it onto a big baking tray and that was fine too. It doesn’t keep that well, best eaten within a few days, but then again that shouldn’t be too much of a hardship, as it really is quite delicious.

I tend to use two medium Bramley cooking apples, but I guess you could use any apples you like. You could also add more or less apples I imagine. There’s really not much to go wrong, you might just have to adjust your cooking time though.

Do have a go at this cake though; once you’ve made it, you’ll be suprised how easy it is to knock up at a last minute. If you have all the ingredients you can go from Yummy to Tummy in about 50 mins I’d say…and only one bowl to wash up. Bargain.

A thick, hearty soup that could probably be made with any green vegetables I imagine. This makes about 6 thick portions but you could add more stock if you like your soups thinner or indeed need to make it go a little further. As always, these are only rough quantities, feel free to alter to taste.

This rich, heavy pudding tastes a bit like those morish melt in the middle puds that M&S so cleverly seduced us with. Obviously those are not vegan, so for the last year I’ve been wondering how I might get my gooey, fudgey fix. And by jove I think I may have done it.

I veganised this dish from a recipe in Easy Cooking magazine. When checking out non vegan cook books I tend to go along the lines, that a recipe without eggs can be easily veganised using sunflower margarine and soya milk. And this certainly proves the case. The original recipe called for more sugar but I felt this would be too sweet and I think I was right. It also took double the time to cook which was odd and a little frustrating but now I know it takes over an hour, I’ll be prepared next time. Have a go and let me know how you get on. Serves 6.

Oh that sounds yummy I hear you say. Well, yes you’d be right. It is. So go on and make it. You can serve it with anything you like I suppose. I cooked it today and served it with roast potatoes and a rocket and spinach salad, but I guess it would work well with cous cous, rice, even pasta maybe. I’m sure I’ll try all of the aforementioned within a week, so I’ll let you know.  I made this recipe up on the hoof but it was really tasty. It serves one, so make sure you double/triple the quantities if you need more.

This apple crumble has the X factor. It’s fruity, spicy, and addictive. Get the best cooking apples you can lay your hands on. If you are lucky enough to have an apple tree in your garden, or luckier still, have a neighbour with an apple tree over hanging your garden, then you can cook and freeze the apples in the Autumn and eat crumble all winter. Oh the thought.

I’ve fiddled and tweaked and this is the best crumble recipe I’ve come up with so far. It makes six large portions, or eight smaller ones, but I think there should be some sort of legislation against small portions of crumble. It’s plain wrong.

So dust off your scales, put on your apron and get ready for a big portion.

“Did you bring any muffins?” That was the first question my dad asked me today when I saw him. And in case you are wondering, no I didn’t. Why? Because I ate them all.

These muffins are mega. Substantial, chocolatey, and like many of the cakes on this site, taste great with a cuppa.

Everyone loves these, and no, you can’t tell they are vegan. My dad is borderline obsessed with them which is high praise indeed.

The recipe uses a small amount of oil rather than margarine, so while I wouldn’t go as far as calling them ‘healthy’, they are much lower in saturated fat than most cakes so you might live a bit longer and can therefore eat more…or something like that anyway. Read the rest of this entry »

And now for something really naughty. This delightful treat was first given to me as a birthday present from my dear friend Fiona. Don’t you just love edible presents, especially when they are handmade and contain truck loads of chocolate.

The only slight downside with edible presents, are that they don’t last very long. And in this case, no longer than about 48 hours. So, I beat the recipe out of Fiona and Robin and here it is! Well, actually it is a slight modification, as when I tried their recipe with my vegan margarine, it split. So the only difference here is that I simply used chocolate in place of cocoa powder to give the margarine something to work with. Thanks F and R much appreciated.

So for all you chocolate fridge cake lovers out there (and Gina and Doug)…here it is. Enjoy

Thanks Mum. Big crunchy thanks. Your vegan shortbread biscuits are delightful.

On numerous occasions I have tried to make biscuits, and although edible in the confines of my own home, if one was being truly honest, one couldn’t claim they were a success.

In the past my attempts have been either too soft, or too chewy. Some were too greasy or too dry. Once, a tray of 15 biscuits molded into one enourmous and very scary looking uber cookie. Most alarming. Read the rest of this entry »

Tasty, very tasty. And so simple too. Not terribly healthy mind you.

A few weeks back I served these to my Mum, Dad and Auntie who are all meat eaters. You should have seen my Dad’s face when I offered ‘vegan sausage rolls’ for lunch. You’d have thought I’d suggested ‘toenails on a bed of pooh with a coulis of ear wax’. Still, they agreed to have ‘a little bit’ along side their beans on toast.

Top marks were given to the sausage rolls and all agreed that they’d ‘never have known they were vegan’. Bring it on.

So what are you waiting for. You can eat them hot or cold, make them big or small. Sprinkle the top with seeds or add your own twist. I add a layer of tomato puree in mine, sesame seeds on top and serve with a bag of plain hula hoop crisps and a nice cuppa tea.