Vegan and Vegetarian

Posts in category 3. Recipes

Vegan Cupcakes Chocolate & Raisin

Feb12
2012 Leave a Comment Written by maggie

Chocolate Raisin Cupcakes

Recently I tried the chocolate coated raisins from Redwoods,  I really enjoyed them, they are a classic combination of lovely flavours.  So I thought I would see how this worked in cupcakes,  I think they taste really good, and the recipe here gives you a mix of plenty of chocolate and raisins so you do not feel cheated.  I get annoyed at cakes that say chocolate chips and only have a couple of pieces in them.

This recipe makes 6 good size cupcakes.

125gram of self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
75 grams of caster sugar
50 grams of vegan chocolate chips or pieces
50 grams of good quality raisins
3 tablespoons of sunflower oil
teaspoon of vanilla extract
110ml of water

Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees.

Lay out a muffin baking tray and line with 6 cupcake cases.

Mix all the ingredients into a bowl,  give it a really good stir making sure that all the lumps and bits of flour are worked through.

Spoon the mix into the cases and bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes.  When cooked take out the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack,  then enjoy.

You can double the mixture to make double the amount.  I like to make small batches unless I have lots of visitors then I do not make myself fed up of cake,  they keep for a couple of days in an airtight container.  They always taste best when they have just cooled enough to eat, but I am impatient when it comes to cake, I can’t wait to have a taste.

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Double Chocolate Cupcakes

Jan26
2012 Leave a Comment Written by maggie

Vegan Double Chocolate Cup Cakes

This is a very simple recipe for chocolate chip, chocolate cup cakes which are vegan,  this recipe makes 9 generous size cupcakes.  Perfect for sharing or  for Birthday cup cakes.

225gram of self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
150 grams of caster sugar
30grams of cocoa powder
100grams of vegan chocolate chips or pieces
6 tablespoons of sunflower oil
teaspoon of vanilla extract
225 ml of water

Pre heat the oven to 180

arrange cup cake cases in a muffin baking tray.

Sift the flour into a bowl and then add all the other ingredients to the bowl.  Give everything a really good mix up.

Spoon the mixture into the  paper cup cake cases.

Bake in the oven for 12- 15 minutes,  use a cocktail stick to test,  stick into centre of cake and if it comes out clean then the cakes are done, if  not bake for a further couple of minutes.

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Winter Vegetable Soup

Jan20
2012 Leave a Comment Written by maggie

Vegan Winter Vegetable Soup

When I make a soup I like to use left over pasta or rice and use up all the odds and ends of vegetables in the fridge,  this not only makes a tasty soup but saves on waste.  I also make a very large pot of soup and when it has cooled I portion it up into tubs and then freeze most of it so I can have ready meals whenever I fancy.

1 onion (optional)
1 Segment of Garlic (optional)

A selection of  chopped vegetables that you like to eat,  I use cabbage, broccolli, green beans, carrot, peas, sweet potato and fennel and any left over vegetables you might have.
Cooked pasta or rice ( use fresh or left overs,  this adds a bit of substance for winter).
Beans I like to add a can of butter beans,  or chickpeas
Tablespoon of Vegetable Stock Powder
Fresh herbs chopped ( i used thyme and sage ) Use a good handful of each.
2 teaspoons of dried mint
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon of English Mustard
A little Chilli powder (optional)
Olive oil
Water

First put some olive into your cooking pot and bring to a medium heat.  If using the onions and garlic, add them into the pan and stir and cook for approx 5 minutes.  Then add all the vegetables and coat them in the olive oil, stirring so they do not burn,  this helps to seal in the flavour.

Add the water  covering the vegetables to a consistency you like,  you can always add more later, then stir in the vegetable stock, add the fresh and dried herbs, salt and pepper, mustard and chilli.  Stir it well making sure that everything is well distributed.

Add the beans.  Bring it to the boil, then turn it down to a medium heat for approx 10 minutes.  Then add the pasta or rice and let it simmer for another 10 minutes.

Serve with some crackers or home made bread.

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Vegan Scones Recipe

Jan18
2012 Leave a Comment Written by maggie

Vegan Sultana and Cinnamon Scones

This is such an easy recipe to make.  The trick with the scones is not to over work the dough,  handle it as little as possible.  This recipe makes 6 or you can make 4 large ones like I did.

Ingredients Makes 6

225gram of sifted Self Raising Flour (I use half wholemeal & half white)
60 grams of cold vegan margarine (I use Vitalite)
25grams of Caster Sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
A pinch of Salt
1 teaspoon of Cinnamon (more if you prefer a stronger flavour)
75 grams Sultanas
Approx 125ml of Soya Milk (you can use Almond or Rice milk if you prefer)

Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees Gas Mark 5

Mix together the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and Sultanas.  Then add the margarine,  work it through the flour mix with fork as evenly as possible.

Little by little add the Soya milk and mix with the fork until it starts to stick together.  Then with your hands bring it completely together and into a ball.

You then have a choice,  some people like to roll it out into a thick 2.5cm sheet and use a cutter to cut the scones out and place on a baking tray.

I prefer to take chunks of dough and roll them up into balls then flatten the top and bottom and place on the baking tray.

Brush with little of the soya milk and sprinkle a little sugar on top and then bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes depending on the size of the Scones. Allow to cool, serve them with some vegan margarine and jam or with some soya thick cream and jam for a vegan cream tea.

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Muffins with Garlic Mushrooms & Tahini Dressing

Jan08
2012 Leave a Comment Written by maggie

Vegan Roasted Muffins with Garlic Mushrooms & Tahini Dresssing

This is a lovely recipe that Paul makes from time to time.  They taste fantastic and are really satisfying to eat and because the muffins are roasted in the oven the texture is really good,  it is crispy on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside.

4 muffins plus olive oil to coat
500g chestnut mushrooms – thickly sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic oil
pinch chopped parsley
pinch salt

tahini dressing:
2 tbsp tahini
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp garlic oil
1 tsp olive olive
pinch salt
pinch paprika (optional)

Preheat oven to 200 celsius

Using the end a rolling pin or similar, press down hard on the top of
each muffin several times to create a central “well”.  The end result
will look a little like a ring doughnut but with a base.

Brush the muffins all over with olive oil

Place muffins in oven and bake until golden brown – around 10 minutes

Meanwhile, add olive oil to pan and heat

Add mushrooms and pinch of salt and saute for 5 minutes

Add the garlic oil and continue to saute for a couple of minutes

Remove from heat and mix in the parsley, drizzle with tahini dressing and serve

To make the tahini dressing:

In a small ramekin/bowl add the tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic
oil, salt and paprika (if using).

Stir vigorously to combine and then very slowly add water a few drops
at a time and continue to stir until you achieve the desired
consistency – usually like a thick single cream.

The tahini dressing is also excellent with salad.

Note: if you don’t have garlic oil, just use crushed garlic to taste

Paul last made these using the Lidl muffins which I reviewed earlier.

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Vegetarian Society 12 Days of Christmas

Dec09
2011 Leave a Comment Written by maggie

Vegan Christmas Recipes

The vegetarian society have a lovely feature on their website called “The Twelve Days of Christmas”.  They have 12 Christmassy recipes,  11 of which are or can be made vegan.

They have cocktails alcoholic and non alcoholic, starters like the vegan sushi,  a lovely Festive Loaf,  left over recipe called second day strudel and some wonderful desserts like the Christmas baskets.

The recipes all seem quite simple and do not take long to make,  they are a great inspiration for the festive season and should delight your guests.

 

Here is a direct link to the feature.

https://www.vegsoc.org/page.aspx?pid=1323

Don’t worry if you are not a great cook as there is lots of veggie food products available in the local health food shops and in the supermarkets.  I will be shortly reviewing the Redwoods Celebration Roast which looks like a real winner for my Christmas lunch.  But there is so much choice including nut roasts,  fake meat roasts,  veggie bakes and veggie sausages,  that we all can have a lovely meal this festive season.

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Vegan Mince Pie Recipe

Dec02
2011 Leave a Comment Written by maggie

Mince Pie Recipe

A simple mince pie recipe that is so easy to make,  with left over pastry you can also make some jam tarts if you fancy.

makes 10-12 small mince pies

100 g plain flour
50g vegan margarine
50g icing sugar
Vegan Mincemeat ( I like the Morrisons Version)

In a bowl add the flour, margarine and icing sugar then rub to fine breadcrumb texture (or use food processor) add tiny drop
of water and work just enough to form a dough
chill for 30 minutes

preheat oven to 180c fan, or 200 non-fan

roll out thinly and use cutter for size of baking tray being used
push pastry discs into tray
prick bases with fork
make lids using smaller cutter than that used for bases

add mincemeat to top, wet edged and add pastry lids
cook for 20 mins or until golden brown

sprinkle with icing sugar to finish

variation for jam tarts:  bake pastry blind for 5 minutes, add jam and
continue to cook for 8-12 minutes, until pastry has turned golden
brown.  allow jam to cool before eating

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Vegan Orange Cupcakes

Nov27
2011 1 Comment Written by maggie

Vegan Cup Cake Recipe

These cakes are really simple to make and taste great.  My recipe makes 9 good size cup cakes or 12 smaller ones.

225grams of White Self Raising Flour Sifted ( you can use half wholemeal if you prefer)
2 tea spoons of baking powder
150grams of caster sugar
175ml water
50ml of fresh orange juice
6 table spoons of sunflower oil
1 vanilla pod or one teaspoon of vanilla essence
Good quality Orange Marmalade Jam

For the Topping
A little orange juice
one teaspoon of vegan margarine (I use Vitalite)
5 teaspoons of icing sugar, (you may need a little more)
A little bit of zest from the orange for decoration

Preheat the Oven to 180 or Gas Mark 4

Prepare a tray with cup cake cases

Mix together the dry ingredients, flour, baking powder, sugar, add the vanilla seeds from one pod or add the vanilla essence. Mix in the water and oil. Give everything a really good mix, making sure there are no lumps.

Using a dessert spoon put two spoonfuls of the mix into each cupcake case
Then using a teaspoon, spoon in one teaspoon of the marmalade into each case on top of the mixture.
Then again with the dessert spoon put a final spoonful of mix on top of the jam into each case.

Place in the oven and bake for approx 15 minutes. You can test them by using a cocktail stick, if it comes out dry then they are done.

Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack.

Once cooled make the topping.
Mix one teaspoon of vegan margarine with two teapsoons of orange juice. Slowly add the icing sugar until you get a smooth butter icing. Spread a little on to each cake and sprinkle with a little orange zest.

Perfect for a vegan dessert or just with a nice cuppa.

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Vegan Onion Bhaji Recipe

Nov15
2011 Leave a Comment Written by maggie

Vegan Onion Bhaji Recipe

You can have these as spicy or as mild as you like by adjusting the spice levels,  they taste great and keep in the freezer for ages.

100g (1 cup) gram flour
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp coriander (dried coriander leaf is fine)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp ground coriander seed
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 big onion, sliced
oil for deep frying

Mix everything except onion in a bowl
Add enough water to make a thick batter
Stir in the sliced onion and coat well
Leave to rest for 5 minutes
Heat oil to 180 celsius
Using 2 large spoons, shape to desired size and drop the mixture into
the oil and cook until deep golden brown – around 5 minutes
These can be eaten straight away, but they also work well if frozen
and then defrosted

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Vegan Lentil & Chestnut Wellington Recipe

Nov06
2011 Leave a Comment Written by maggie

Lentil and Chestnut Wellingtons

This recipe makes 2 wellingtons,  they are really satisfying to eat and have a pleasant savoury flavour.  I think they make a great dish,  serve with a vegetable stir fry or with some salad.  I like to have mine with peas.

Ingredients:
100g dried red lentils
80 ml stock
40ml white wine
100g chestnuts
1 medium slice wholemeal bread
1 tsp thyme
pinch salt
pinch pepper
puff pastry sheets (ready made is fine, try the Just Rol)
sesame seeds for sprinkling on top

Method:

Wash the red lentils and empty into pan
add stock and wine and bring to boil
simmer until lentils are tender but still have a little bite – around 10 mins
Blend chestnuts until they resemble fine breadcrumbs and add to lentils
Blend slice of bread and add to lentils
Add thyme, salt and pepper to taste and stir to mix evenly

Allow mixture to cool

Open the puff pastry sheet and Fold both top corners into the centre
as though making a paper aeroplane.

Trim horizontally to remove the excess pastry from the bottom (below
the folded pastry) and set to one side

Cut up the middle of the folder pastry to create 2 equal squares of pastry

Taking each square in turn, fold each of the 4 corners into the centre
to create another square and gently crease the sides – open and very
gently mark the creases with a knife

Add enough filling inside this marked boundary so that when the
corners are folded over again they can still make the square with a
bit of overlap

Once there is enough filling, dampen the pastry edges and then fold
over and seal using the damped edges

Repeat for second wellington

Using the excess pastry, make 2 squares approx 1 1/2″ across each and
dampen the underside and place on the top of each wellington

Slightly dampen the tops of both wellingtons and sprinkle with sesame seeds

Prick 3-4 times with a fork

Bake in preheated over at 200c for 15-20 minutes until golden brown

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Wholemeal Floury Baps Recipe

Oct30
2011 Leave a Comment Written by maggie

Vegan Bread Rolls

These bread rolls are divine.  Paul bakes these every couple of weeks,  they are perfect for a veggie burger or with a hearty bowl of soup.  Just Yummy.

260ml warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp yeast
50g melted vegan margarine (we use vitalite)
225g wholemeal bread flour
50g plain white flour
175g strong white bread flour
1 tsp salt

Add sugar and yeast to water, stir and leave for 10 minutes until it foams
Mix flours and salt in bowl
Mix in the yeasted liquid
Knead for 10 mins by hand or 5 mins using mixer with dough hook
Cover bowl with cling film and allow to rise for 1 hour

(this can also be done in a bread maker on the dough setting, just add
the ingredients in the order given in the manufacturers instructions -
some require the water first, others the flour and it does make a
difference)

Knock back, knead lightly for 1 minute
Cut into 8 equal pieces
To create the bap shapes, on a floured surface keep pulling from the
outer edges to the centre and rotating until it is round, dust with
flour all over and place on a floured baking sheet
Dust with flour and cover with lightly oiled cling film
Rise for 30 minutes in a warm place
Remove cling film and dust again with flour – the flour helps prevent
the outer surface from burning so be liberal with it
Bake in a preheated oven at 200c for 18 minutes
Remove and allow to cool

Tip: to make the baps extra fluffy, add half a 200mg vitamin c tablet,
finely crushed between 2 teaspoons, to the flour.  This works
especially well for breads made in a bread maker.

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Vegan Curried Pasty Recipe

Oct20
2011 Leave a Comment Written by maggie

Curried Chickpea and Apple Pasties

I really  like pasties and these ones are just fantastic,  they taste great and are really easy to make.

Makes 4
100g plain flour
40g wholemeal bread flour
60g self-raising wholemeal flour
100g vegan margarine
pinch salt
4 tbsp water
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion diced
2 medium carrots diced
1 tbsp curry powder
400g tin chickpeas
50g garden peas
200ml vegetable stock
1 medium apple, diced
2 tsp cornflour

For pastry:
Add flours, salt and margarine to food processor and pulse until forms
breadcrumb consistency
Turn processor on and add water slowly until it forms a ball
Remove and place in plastic bag or wrap in cling-film and put in fridge

For filling:
Heat olive oil in pan
Add onions and soften for 2 minutes
Add carrots and fry for 5 minutes
Add curry powder and stir for a few seconds over heat to coat
Add chickpeas, garden peas and stock
Bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes
Add apple and simmer for further 5 minutes
Mix cornflour with a few drops of water and add to pan
Stir until thickens and remove from heat and allow to cool

Preheat oven to 200c

Retrieve pasty dough and split into 4 pieces
Take each piece and roll out on floured surface to make 15cm (6 inch) rounds
Spoon cooled filling into one half of the round, leaving a 2cm (3/4 inch) margin
Wet the margin with water and fold over the other half to form pasty
shape, crimping and folding the edges to seal
Make a couple of vents on each pasty with a fork and brush with soya
milk for a glazed finish if required

Cook in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes  You can serve them hot or cold.  Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.

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Vegan Lemon Drizzle Cake Recipe

Oct12
2011 Leave a Comment Written by maggie

Lemon Cake with Drizzle Icing

I love this recipe and it is really easy to make.  Lemon cake goes perfect with a cup of tea, or as a pudding with custard.

225grams of Self raising flour (wholemeal or white or half and half)
2 teaspoons of baking powder
175grams of caster sugar
50ml of lemon juice for the cake
175ml of water
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
6 tablespoons of sunflower oil
1 lemon
50 grams of icing sugar
Lemon juice for the Icing

Put the oven on at 180 or Gas mark 4.

Grease a tray bake style tin with a little vegan margarine for example vitalite.

In one bowl sift in the flour and baking powder, add the sugar and then the oil, then the lemon, water and vanilla essence.  Add a little of the zest from the lemon.  Give everything a really good stir and mix it all in well.

Pour into your tin and place in the oven for approx. 25mins.  When you think it is done you can test it by putting in a cocktail stick and if it comes out clean then it is done,  if not then it needs a few more minutes.

Place onto a cooling rack.

For the lemon drizzle icing

Mix the icing sugar with some lemon juice and the remainder of the lemon zest,  make it quite runny.

With a cocktail stick or skewer, gently stick into the cake lots of little holes to allow the drizzle to soak in.  Pour over the cake evenly and leave it to soak in. Cut into slices and serve.

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Parsnip & Apple Vegan Soup Recipe

Oct11
2011 Leave a Comment Written by maggie

Parsnip and Apple Soup Recipe

I love the autumn as it is a perfect time for fresh home made soups.  This one is just lovely and goes perfect with home made croutons and or home made bread.  Yummy

2 tbsp olive oil
2 small onions
3 carrots – grated
2 cloves garlic
1 red chilli
2 1/2 cm ginger root grated
2 medium apples, peeled, cored and sliced
5 medium parsnips
1 tsp cumin
1 litre vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt, pepper, grated nutmeg to taste

fry onions in the olive oil for 2 minutes over medium heat to soften
add grated carrot, chilli, garlic, ginger and fry for 2 more minutes
add cumin, apple and parsnip and fry for 2 minutes
add stock and bay leaves
bring to boil and simmer for 8 minutes (5 minutes if using a high
speed blender eg vitamix or blendtec)
remove bay leaves
blend in batches (or use stick blender) until smooth and lump free
return to pan
add chilli powder and lemon juice
add more stock if thinner consistency is preferred
heat gently for 3 minutes
add salt, pepper, nutmeg to taste
remove from heat and allow to cool slightly to infuse the flavours

Serve with some crusty bread or crackers.  Recipe serves 4 people.  I like to freeze a couple of portions, so when Im feeling a bit lazy this is a tasty meal that is really quick.

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Maggie’s Falling Down Fruit Cake

Oct10
2011 Leave a Comment Written by maggie

Vegan Fruit Cake Recipe

This is a heavy very boozy fruit cake recipe that I have developed over the years.  You only should have a small piece and definitely do not drive after eating as it is really potent.  It can be used as a celebration cake,  perfect for Christmas.  I like to make a very large cake and then split it into a few pieces,  it lasts for ages this way and it keeps well in an airtight container for weeks.

This cake is made in three stages.  Baking the Cake,  Feeding the Cake, Icing the Cake oh I forgot stage four eating the cake.

Baking the Cake.

Ingredients

1000 grams of Dried Fruit and Nuts ( i like to use raisins, sultanas, glace cherries, chopped walnuts and chopped almonds,  but add what fruits and nuts you like )
Two teaspoons of cinnamon powder (you can add more if you like)
Half a freshly grated nutmeg
3 Dessert Spoons of your favourite brandy, sherry, whisky or rum
1 Cup of Soy Milk
1 teaspoon of vinegar
Egg Replacer (enough for 2 eggs worth) or Two dessert spoons of soya flour
Half a teaspoon of baking powder
2 dessert spoonfuls of black treacle
200 grams of dark brown sugar
200grams of vegan margarine
250 gram of self raising Flour sifted (wholemeal or white)
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

extra alcohol for feeding

First put the fruit, nuts and spices into a large bowl and stir in the alcohol.  Every so often give it a stir.

Line a large baking tin with grease proof paper that has been rubbed with a little vegan margarine to prevent the cake from sticking.  I like to use a tray bake tin.  But you can use spring form tins or whatever shape and size you like,  you could even divide the mixture into a couple of smaller tins.

Pre heat the oven to 180 Electric or Gas mark 5.

Add the vinegar to the soya milk and let it sit for about 5 mins,  it will curdle the milk and start to foam.

Put all the other ingredients into a bowl or food mixer and combine together,  add half of the soya milk mix and stir in.  Then add all the fruit and nuts and give it a good mix together.  Gradually add a bit more of the soya milk until you get a smooth consistency and it drops from a spoon slowly.  Give it a good stir to get it all mixed in well.

Pour into the baking tin even out with a flat edged knife or spatula.

Place in the oven for 30 mins then carefully place a loose foil lid over the cake to prevent burning and reduce temperature on the oven down to 140.  Bake for another 1 hour.  Remove foil lid carefully and test cake with a skewer,  if it comes out without any mixture the cake is done,  if not bake for another 15 mins and check again, and again after another 15 minutes until it is cooked through.

Remove from oven, place on a cooling rack and allow to cool for a couple of hours, still in its tin.

When it is cool,  remove from baking tin and completely wrap with foil and put into an airtight container.  At this point if you have made the large cake you can cut it up into a few pieces and wrap them individually.

Feeding the Cake

The next day, open the top of the cake and sprinkle a little of the alcohol over evenly approx.  a dessert spoonful.  Repeat this every couple of days for a week.  Then feed it once a fortnight until you eat it.

If you have split your cake,  I would only decorate it before I want it,  so you can feed the cake a few more times.

Icing or Decorating the Cake

I have to admit I am not that great with cake decoration.  So I use ready to roll marzipan and ready to roll icing.  But if you have the time and the skill knock yourself out and make it look lovely.  I do try a little harder at Christmas and ice it myself using some cake decorations.  Ribbons cover a multitude of sins.

But for a store cupboard cake I roll out the marzipan and icing, cut it to size and then stick it to the cake using warmed apricot jam.

Here is a link to some of the lesser known Baking Ingredients I use.

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